Cuttack: The SCB Medical College and Hospital (SCBMCH) here is soon going to have an extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine. This equipment is an essential ingredient for treating critical Covid-19 patients. The Odisha State Medical Corporation (OSMC) will purchase the ECMO machine. It has recently written a letter to SCBMCH in this regard, it was learnt.
The OSMC has set up a committee to finalise the price of the machine immediately so that the life-saving equipment can be procured without any delay.
The committee comprises DMET Prof Dr CBK Mohanty, Principal of SCB Medical College and Hospital Prof Dr Datteshwar Hota, Chief Professor in Department of Anesthesia Prof Dr Nivedita Pani, Chief Professor of Department of Pulmonary Dr Manoranjan Pattanaik and Chief Professor of Cardiology Prof. Dr Jayant Panda.
Notably, the demand for ECMO facility has increased with many patients succumbing to the virus because of its non-availability.
Former Dhenkanal MLA Navin Nanda’s eldest son Sambit died May 22 as the facility was not available. Few hours before his son’s death, the former MLA in a Twitter post had requested Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and many others to save his son’s life.
Doctors prescribe a Covid-19 patient for ECMO treatment when the lungs are fully damaged and s/he requires ventilator support. With this machine, blood is drawn out of a patient’s body and mixed with oxygen using a special by-pass pump-circuit. The oxygenated blood is then pumped back into the patient’s body.
PNN