• Lowell Leow, Evangelos Papadimas, Senthil K Subbian, Graeme MacLaren, and Kollengode Ramanathan.
• Department of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Surgery, National University Heart Centre Singapore, Singapore.
• Asian Cardiovasc Thorac Ann. 2021 Mar 1; 29 (3): 165-169.

BackgroundExtracorporeal membrane oxygenation has been used for COVID-19 patients with refractory hypoxemia.MethodsWe share our institution's experience in organizing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation services in Singapore during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also share our first COVID-19 extracorporeal membrane oxygenation case report.ResultsWe encountered initial difficulties in providing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation services in Singapore in view of the considerations of managing COVID-19 patients. By adopting rigorous planning, patient selection, staff training, adhering to infection control measures and preparing transport essentials, we were able to reorganize the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation services to serve the nation's needs. This culminated in our first successful COVID-19 extracorporeal membrane oxygenation retrieval case.ConclusionsExtracorporeal membrane oxygenation is an option for COVID-19 patients but preparation must be taken to prepare the extracorporeal membrane oxygenation teams to deal with this pandemic and future challenges.

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