CONNOR'S STORY

Connor was born on March 5, 2001. His mother Christine did not have the easiest time with her pregnancy and in fact, had a difficult delivery, yet the doctors did not anticipate any real problems.  But within a few minutes of his birth, they realized the baby was suffering severe respiratory distress.  He was rushed to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit and immediately placed on a ventilator to force air into his lungs.  This procedure was not successful, so the doctors tried another ventilator, again with no success.  It was at that time they decided to place Connor on an ECMO machine. 

The little boy stayed on the ECMO for 5 days, was then transferred to a ventilator for the next two weeks.  After he was removed from the ventilator, he remained in the NICU as he required oxygen for a further 10 days.

Throughout his time on the ECMO, the doctors performed daily ultrasounds of his brain to make sure no bleeding was occurring.  Such bleeding could be worsened with the use of ECMO as the blood is thinned using heparin.

Babies on ECMO require frequent blood transfusions to keep their blood count at a normal level.  In addition to red blood cells, the babies also receive platelets to help with clotting.  Connor used 42 pediatric units of red blood cells during his time in the NICU, along with numerous doses of platelets.

He is now a healthy little boy who is attending kindergarten.  He, his 3-year old sister, Eliot, and parents Jason and Christine live in Eugene.  Both Jason and Christine work in the blood bank at Oregon Medical Laboratories, which supplies blood products to Sacred Heart Medical Center.  They know only too well through their own experience and their work the importance of donated blood.

ECMO stands for Extracorporeal  Membrane Oxygenation, which means oxygenation outside the body.  It is similar to a heart-lung bypass machine, used for open-heart surgery.  ECMO is used for babies whose lungs and/or heart are failing despite other treatments.  ECMO takes over the work of the lungs and heart so they can rest and heal.  The ECMO is literally a temporary artificial lung and heart.
  If the baby has problems breathing, a ventilator or breathing machine may be used to force air into the baby’s lungs, providing oxygen and removing carbon dioxide.  But some babies are so sick the ventilator cannot perform these functions adequately, and ECMO is required.
Once the doctors decide ECMO is needed, tubes are inserted into large blood vessels in the baby’s neck that are connected to the ECMO circuit.  The baby’s blood slowly drains into the circuit and is circulated through an artificial lung where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged.  The blood passes through a warmer before returning to the baby.
As soon as the correct ECMO flow is reached, the ventilator is adjusted to let the lungs rest.