How ECMO Is Redefining Death

April 30, 2024

X-ray of a torso

(The New Yorker) – A medical technology can keep people alive when they otherwise would have died. Where will it lead?

Although ECMO technology is more than half a century old, it was in some ways still considered an experimental treatment until recently. ECMO devices began to be used to replace lungs wrecked by COVID-19; stories began to spread of incredible recoveries after as long as a hundred and forty-nine days on ECMO. Family members of COVID patients called dozens of hospitals, hunting for the machines.

But some physicians worry that ECMO is creating entirely new ethical conundrums. (Read More)