The Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) clinical intervention facility for critically-ill COVOD-19 patients will be available in Odisha very shortly with authorities of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-Bhubaneswar deciding to install the life-saving medical equipment.
“AIIMS, Bhubaneswar has already placed a purchase Order to procure two ECMO machines and their installation is expected very soon. It is expected that the first ECMO machine will be delivered and installed at the end of this month, as confirmed by the supplier”, authorities of the premiere centre-run healthcare institute said on Thursday.
“The AIIMS, Bhubaneswar presently has some faculty members trained in handling ECMO machines, and the Institute is hiring more technicians to operate the same, which will help people, especially those referred to outside treatment”, they concluded.
The Odisha government has also initiated step ECMOs at the SCB Medical College, Cuttack as a life support system for critically ill COVID patients.
The healthcare facilities in Odisha currently do not have ECMO that acts as an artificial heart and pair of artificial lungs outside the body which removes carbon dioxide from the patient’s blood and adds oxygen to it.