Approximately 150 people gathered last Friday for Northeast Georgia Medical Center’s ECMO Survivor’s Luncheon to celebrate 30 people who survived severe illnesses or injuries thanks to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO. ECMO is an often life-saving technology that performs the work of the heart and lungs when other forms of therapy, including traditional ventilation, do not work.

“ECMO is truly for the sickest of the sick, and, without it, these patients wouldn’t be here today,” said Dr. Allison Dupont, cardiologist at The Heart Center of NGMC and medical director of the ECMO program at NGMC. “Today’s Survivor’s Luncheon honors our patients who beat the odds thanks to this advanced technology.”

ECMO provides temporary cardiopulmonary support by circulating blood outside of the body, putting in essential oxygen, removing carbon dioxide and rewarming the blood before returning it to the patient’s body – all to enable the patient’s heart and lungs to rest and heal. Northeast Georgia Medical Center Gainesville began offering ECMO in 2016 and is the only hospital in the region that offers this life-saving program.