The Foundation of the Israli Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenator Society (iECMOs)

Introduction: The Extracorporeal Life Support Organization (ELSO) is an international consortium of health care institutions who are dedicated to the development and evaluation of novel mechanical therapies for support of failing organ systems. The primary mission of the organization is to maintain a registry of, at least, use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in active ELSO centers. Although more than 1500 ECMO’s were used in Israel in the last 7 years, only in September 2019, the Israeli ECMO Society was established. The vision of the society is to allow the technology to become accessible for the entire Israeli population and be one of the leading nations in the Middle East and Europe, which provides ECMO support.

Material and method: The Israeli ECMO society goal is to provide support for institutions in Israel (and abroad) that deliver ECMO, through continuous education, guidelines development, original research, publications and maintenance of a comprehensive registry of patient data. The Israeli ECMO society has a main committee, which includes a chairperson, a secretary and a treasurer. The society working groups includes: The ministry of health working group; proficiency and protocol working group; Registry working group; “Transport” working group; Research working group and media working group.

Results and discussion: As of September 2019, the Israeli ECMO society has elected the first chairperson and organized all committees’ members. Prospective registration of nationwide data will start in January 2020 in all ECMO capable centers in Israel. Data is to be used for clinical research, regulatory agencies and to support centers.

Conclusion: The Israeli ECMO society will be the primary organization providing education, training, research, and data management in the field of extracorporeal life support in Israel.