Extracorporeal Life Support Organization

ECMO's Global Community Since 1989

World's Largest ECMO Patient Registry and Community of ECMO Centers

ELSO is an international nonprofit consortium of health care institutions, researchers, and industry partners. We provide support to those delivering extracorporeal life support through continuing education, guidelines, original research, publications, and a comprehensive registry of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) patient data.

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Virtual Program for the 35^th Annual ELSO Conference now available!

Technology through the years has changed lives and practice.
We are thrilled to host this year in Detroit and Ann Arbor - where it all began.
Register Here

Announcements

ELSO 35th Annual Conference - Virtual Registration Open

ELSO's 35th Annual Conference is now available virtually!
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ELSO – Adult ECMO Practitioner Certification Exam

This exam has been rigorously prepared to meet a global standard to certify foundational knowledge for adult ECMO practitioners. Our exam uses external proctoring to allow for practitioners to sit for the exam using your personal computer at your convenience. Practitioners can apply for eligibility to take the exam. More information can be found on the link below.
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ELSO Live Registry Dashboard
234,385	14,572	12,105
Total Submitted Cases	Total Cases YTD	Total Submitted Cases YTD
View Complete Live Registry Dashboard

ELSO at a Glance

What Is Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO)?

Learn all about extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), which is a common treatment in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), COVID-19, and other critical care situations. Although ECMO may not cure the patient, it gives him or her a chance to heal by giving their heart and lungs time to rest.

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ELSO Guidelines

As a member, you can contribute to and use registry data, benchmark patient outcomes, request data for research, and gain education and training. We offer three membership levels: center, corporate and individual. Learn more about the benefits and apply online

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ELSO Registry

We maintain a registry of active ELSO centers that use ECMO. Registry data is used to support clinical research, regulatory agencies and individual ELSO centers who need to make decisions on patient care and treatment protocols

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ELSO Award of Excellence

Our Award for Excellence in Life Support recognizes extracorporeal life support (ECLS) centers that demonstrate exceptional commitment to evidence-based processes, quality measures, staff training, continuing education, patient satisfaction and ongoing care.

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Education

ELSO provides continuing education for active centers as well as for the broader medical and lay communities. Whether you want meetings, courses, workshops, online classes, hands-on simulation training or annual conferences, our educational opportunities help you stay up to date.

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ELSO Publications

We’ve poured our original research into the comprehensive guides “Extracorporeal Life Support: The ELSO Red Book” and “ECMO Specialist Training Manual,” available in English or Spanish.

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Annual Report

Explore our Annual Report for the highlights from this past year. The report is informative for our community, stakeholders, and investors in the ECLS field.
Please download here

View 2023 Report

ELSO Meetings

Join the discussion and foster communication and collaboration among professionals who apply
advanced technologies in treating refractory organ failure.

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6th LATAM Conference

11/14/2024 - 11/16/2024
Location: Buenos Aires Argentina

Register Here »

36th Annual ELSO Conference

09/27/2025 - 09/30/2025
Location: Washington DC

Support ELSO Initiative

Donate today and contribute to the community

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ELSO Courses/Workshops

ELSO provides continuing education for active centers as well as for the broader medical and lay communities.
Whether you want meetings, courses, workshops, online classes, hands-on simulation training or annual conferences,
our educational opportunities help you stay up to date.

See All Courses