2026 Critical Care Congress Skip to main content
2026 Critical Care Congress Main banner
Final Program


Advance Program
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Session Icons
Thought Leader Session
Thought Leader Session
Guidelines Session
Guidelines Session
Aging Adult Track
Aging Adult Track
Additional Registration Fee
Additional Registration Fee

Research Snapshot Theater: Transplant Medicine, Adult and Pediatric

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation for Pediatric Lung Transplantation

Tuesday, March 24, 2026
11:15 AM - 12:15 PM Central Time
Location: Connections Central - RST 14
  • RR

    Ruth Riedl, MD (she/her/hers)

    Boston Children’s Hospital

    Disclosure(s): No relevant financial relationship(s) to disclose.

  • MA

    Marc Anders, MD

    Associate Professor of Pediatrics
    Baylor College of Medicine

    Disclosure information not submitted.

  • TO

    Taylor Olson, MD

    Attending Physician, Assistant Professor
    Childrens National Health Systems

    Disclosure information not submitted.

  • PA

    Pilar Anton-Martin, MD

    Attending Physician
    Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

    Disclosure information not submitted.

  • Peta Alexander, MBBS, FRACP, FCICM

    Boston Children's Hospital, Massachusetts

    Disclosure information not submitted.

  • EO

    Erika O'Neil, MD

    Associate Professor
    Brooke Army Medical Center

    Disclosure information not submitted.

Introduction: Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) provides cardiorespiratory support and may be used peri-lung transplantation (LTx). However, data in this population remain limited. The purpose of this study was to determine factors associated with survival and successful transplant in pediatric patients bridged to lung transplant with ECMO and those supported with ECMO after lung transplantation.


Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study using the Extracorporeal Life Support Organization Registry, evaluating children less than 19 years old supported with ECMO before or after LTx between 2000- 2022.


Results: One-hundred-and-ninety-four patients were placed on ECMO as a bridge to LTx with 63% survival to hospital discharge. Survival to hospital discharge did not differ between those supported with VV or VA ECMO. Central VA ECMO cannulation was positively associated with receiving a LTx (35% vs 14%, OR 3.42 [1.69-6.91]). In patients who did not receive a LTx, delayed cannulation after hospital day 7 was associated with decreased survival (OR 0.34 [0.15, 0.75]). ECMO support after LTx occurred in 95 patients, 62% received VA or VVA ECMO, and 51% survived to hospital discharge. In patients requiring ECMO post-LTx, cystic fibrosis was associated with lower survival (OR 0.31 [0.12- 0.79]) while pulmonary hypertension was associated with improved survival (OR 5.04 [1.68- 15.1]).


Conclusions: ECMO can be used to support children bridging to LTx as well as for effective stabilization of LTx post-operatively. VV and VA ECMO have been successfully used, with early initiation of ECMO associated with survival. ECMO support after LTx may also improve survival by mitigating PGD development or providing cardiorespiratory stability in the post-operative period. Further studies are needed to characterize patient and disease characteristics that can be well supported by ECMO application in this population.