Asan Medical Center Achieves 3,000 ECMO Cases for Adults with Severe Cardiopulmonary Failure, Setting National Record

Two Out of Three Critically Ill Patients on ECMO
Regain the Ability to Breathe and Have Their Hearts Beat on Their Own

Patients whose heart or lung function has completely failed are in such critical condition that they must rely on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to breathe. At Asan Medical Center in Seoul, two out of every three adult patients treated with ECMO showed excellent clinical outcomes, with spontaneous breathing and circulation restored.

According to the industry on July 9, Asan Medical Center has performed ECMO, a life-support device for adults with severe cardiopulmonary failure, more than 3,000 times—more than any other hospital in Korea—significantly contributing to improved patient survival rates.

ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation) serves as an artificial heart and lung by drawing blood from patients with cardiopulmonary failure, oxygenating it and removing carbon dioxide outside the body, and then returning it to the patient. This process allows the patient’s organs to rest and prevents further damage, while medical staff focus on treating the underlying cause of heart or respiratory failure.

Giljae Kang, ECMO Team Leader at Asan Medical Center Seoul (second from right), is checking the condition of an ECMO maintenance patient. Asan Medical Center Seoul

Since first operating ECMO in 2005, Asan Medical Center reached 500 cumulative cases in 2012, 1,000 in 2015, 2,000 in 2021, and surpassed 3,000 last year, setting a record of 3,123 cases—the highest in Korea.

In 2019, the hospital officially launched a specialized ECMO team, further systematizing the treatment of severe cardiopulmonary failure. As a result, by last year, Asan Medical Center achieved a 65% ECMO weaning success rate. This means that among 100 patients on ECMO, 65—or two out of three—were able to breathe and have their hearts beat on their own, allowing safe removal of the device.

While a patient is on ECMO, the medical team focuses on treating the specific causes of cardiopulmonary failure. As cardiac and pulmonary function gradually recover, the amount of blood flow and oxygen supplied by ECMO is slowly reduced to assess whether the patient’s heart and lungs can function independently. Only when it is determined that the patient’s organs are working properly is ECMO safely removed (weaning).

If patients successfully recover after being weaned from ECMO, they can ultimately be discharged in good health. Asan Medical Center’s survival-to-discharge rate was also excellent at 51% as of 2025. Patients dependent on ECMO are typically in critical and life-threatening condition, so the fact that more than half could safely have the device removed and return home healthy demonstrates the high standard of ECMO care at the hospital.

If, despite ongoing treatment, a patient’s organs are deemed irrecoverable, ECMO serves as a ‘bridge to transplantation,’ extending life while the patient awaits a brain-dead organ donor. Asan Medical Center has also achieved outstanding results in this area, providing crucial support for critically ill patients waiting for transplants.

From 2015 to last year, 452 ECMO cases—20% of the total—were performed for patients awaiting transplants. The actual transplantation rate among these bridge therapy patients reached 72%, and the survival-to-discharge rate after transplantation was an impressive 82%.

More specifically, there were 164 heart transplants and 22 left ventricular assist device (LVAD) bridge therapies for a total of 186 heart transplant and LVAD bridge cases, with a post-transplant survival-to-discharge rate of 82%. There were also 140 lung transplant bridge cases, with a post-transplant survival-to-discharge rate of 81%.

The hospital has also successfully established an external transfer system for safely bringing critically ill patients from other hospitals to Asan Medical Center for treatment. Between 2015 and 2025, a total of 130 such transfers were carried out. Among these patients, ECMO weaning success was 70%, and survival-to-discharge was 59%—both high rates.

Notably, among externally transferred patients, there were 29 heart transplants, 3 LVAD cases, and 21 lung transplants for a total of 53, greatly contributing to improved survival rates for severe cardiopulmonary failure patients nationwide.

Jaehwan Lee, Vice President of Asan Medical Center, stated, “Achieving 3,000 adult ECMO cases for the first time in Korea was only possible because of the noble dedication of our medical staff, who strive to save every life. The results we achieved are due to the unwavering efforts of the ECMO team and all intensive care staff, working tirelessly around the clock.”

Pilje Kang, ECMO team leader and professor of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery at Asan Medical Center, said, “We will continue our efforts so that patients with severe cardiopulmonary failure can recover spontaneous breathing and circulation through fundamental treatment, succeed in ECMO weaning, and ultimately be discharged.”

Meanwhile, on July 3, Asan Medical Center held a symposium in its auditorium to commemorate the achievement of 3,000 adult ECMO cases—the first in Korea. The symposium featured a variety of academic presentations and the sharing of the latest findings, including: management of left ventricular afterload during veno-arterial ECMO, outcomes and future directions of veno-venous ECMO, application of ECMO after open-heart surgery at Asan Medical Center, and the role of perfusionists within the ECMO team.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.