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December 24, 2025
December 24, 2025
December 24, 2025
The Caribbean Heart Institute (CHI) has introduced a portable extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) system, becoming the only facility in the English-speaking Caribbean to offer the advanced life-support technology.
The system provides temporary heart and lung support for patients experiencing severe cardiac or respiratory failure when conventional treatments such as ventilators or medication are no longer effective. Blood is pumped from a patient’s body into an external machine that oxygenates it and removes carbon dioxide before returning it to circulation.
CHI Chief Executive Officer Dr Gary Stephens said the system is intended to sustain critically ill patients long enough for their organs to recover or until additional treatment options become available. “ECMO doesn’t replace healing; it buys time for healing,” he said.
The institute said ECMO is generally used for life-threatening pneumonia, severe COVID-19, cardiac arrest, heart failure, or complex post-surgical recovery, and in neonatal and paediatric cases involving reversible heart or lung conditions. Because the procedure is highly specialised, it is typically offered only at advanced medical centres with trained multidisciplinary teams.
CHI explained the procedure involves inserting plastic tubes into major blood vessels to divert blood through an external oxygenator, often described as an artificial lung, with continuous monitoring by a team of critical care physicians, perfusionists, and nurses.
The institute said it has established a dedicated ECMO programme capable of providing round-the-clock support. The portable unit, which has also been used at major international events such as the New York Marathon, is expected to expand access to emergency cardiac and respiratory care in Guyana.
Officials emphasised that ECMO is not a curative therapy but may serve as a bridge to recovery or to more advanced interventions such as heart or lung transplantation.
