ECMO in India – The Road Ahead
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) has transformed from a last-resort therapy into a recognized life-saving modality for cardiac and respiratory failure. In India, it gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic and continues to save lives across age groups. Yet, ECMO access remains uneven — concentrated in metropolitan centres, costly, and dependent on highly trained teams.

The Challenges
Three imbalances stand out:
1. Geographic concentration – Most centres are in large cities, leaving vast regions underserved.
2. Human resources – ECMO requires trained intensivists, surgeons, nurses, perfusionists, and respiratory therapists. Numbers remain inadequate despite growing interest.
3. Cost and logistics – Dependence on imported consumables, limited insurance coverage, and absence of robust transport systems make affordability a major barrier.

The Road Ahead
To bridge these gaps, we must:
• Develop hub-and-spoke networks with regional centres supporting peripheral hospitals through tele-ECMO and mobile cannulation teams.
• Scale education via tiered training: online foundational modules, regional simulation courses, and advanced fellowships. Nurses and perfusionists must be given structured certification pathways.
• Drive down costs through pooled procurement, local manufacturing partnerships, and advocacy for insurance/government inclusion of ECMO in reimbursement packages.
• Strengthen transport systems with trained mobile ECMO teams and dedicated ambulances.
• Establish a national registry under ESOI to capture outcomes, benchmark practices, and inform policy.

ESOI’s Role
ESOI remains the nucleus of this movement. Our fellowship programmes, hands-on workshops, simulation courses, and national conferences have already seeded expertise. State branches are vital in taking education to the grassroots, organizing regional workshops and building local networks. Going forward, ESOI will expand hybrid training, standardize competency assessments, and lead registry-based research to answer India-specific questions.

Call to Action
Making ECMO widely available and affordable is not a dream — it is a collective responsibility. Hospitals must collaborate, policymakers must recognize ECMO’s value, industry must innovate cost-effective solutions, and we as a society must continue to train, mentor, and support.
The goal is simple: every patient who could benefit from ECMO should have timely access to safe, affordable care, regardless of geography or means. Together, through the strength of ESOI and its members, we can make this vision a reality.

Dr. Dipanjan Chatterjee
President, ECMO Society of India (ESOI)

Upcoming Events

April 2026

03rd - 05th April VIRTUAL TALK

10th - 12th April HANDS ON & SIMULATION

26th ECMO TRAINING COURSES

Riddhiviniyak Hospital

6 days Interactive Learning Sessions on ECMO.

June 2026

28th - 30th May VIRTUAL TALK

04th - 06th June HANDS ON & SIMULATION

07th June Master class on ECPR & MCS

27th ECMO TRAINING COURSES

Riddhiviniyak Hospital

7 days Interactive Learning Sessions on ECMO.

ECMO DATA

ECMO CENTRES

Membership

ECMO Education

Patient & Relativies

General Physician

Members

Upcoming Events

26th ECMO TRAINING COURSES

27th ECMO TRAINING COURSES

Latest News

State Blog