The vast expansion of patients treated with of extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) emerge novel ethical questions about the use of this new technology. In regard the indications, duration of support and timing of withdrawal of support, these questions sometimes create disagreement among surrogates, between health care team and surrogates, and even disagreement among health care team, these disagreements occurs because of the extreme emergency of support initiation, the ambiguity of the outcome as well as lack of clarity on the intended treatment direction, whether it is ineffective, bridge to recovery or bridge to lifetime mechanical support or transplant. In this article we discuss these questions through patients' scenarios.

Extra corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a life-saving technique to manage refractory cardiopulmonary failure. Its usage and indication continue to increase. Femoral venoarterial ECMO (VA ECMO) is relatively less invasive and the cardiac support may be more rapidly instituted in in these extremely tenuous patients. Vascular injuries and limb ischemia unfortunately occur in these emergent access settings. Here we will discuss the optimal techniques of preventing this complication which might affect patient survival and impact the patient quality of life.

Donor lung shortage has been the main reason to the increasing number of patients waiting for lung transplant. Ex vivo lung perfusion (EVLP) is widely expanding technology to assess and prepare the lungs who are considered marginal for transplantation. The outcomes are encouraging and comparable to the lungs transplanted according to the standard criteria. In this article, we will discuss the history of development, the techniques and protocols of ex vivo, and the logics and rationales for ex vivo use.