Cuttack: With a surge in Covid critical patients in need of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) who are being airlifted to other states for the treatment, the Odisha government has decided to establish a full-fledged ECMO unit at SCB Medical College and Hospital.
The state government will procure six ECMO machines which will be installed at the Cardiothoracic & Vascular Surgery Ward of the hospital.
The ECMO machines help in treating patients whose lungs are completely damaged due to Covid-19.
Sum Hospital and Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) in Bhubaneswar are the two private hospitals with the ECMO facility, however the facility in KIMS is not functioning due to lack of trained experts.