In a major announcement, the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar on Saturday announced to provide free ECMO support facility to the poor and ration card holders requiring critical treatment like for Covid-19 in the State.
"All ration card holders and poor will be provided free ECMO treatment at the hospital," said Sachidananda Mohanty, Medical Superintendent of AIIMS Bhubaneswar.
Notably, on July 15, the ECMO facility was rolled out for patients at the premier medical institute. AIIMS Bhubaneswar Director B. Gitanjali inaugurated a new unit at the hospital having two ECMO machines on the occasion of the ninth foundation day of the institute.
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A decision was taken in June to procure two machines amid a huge requirement for ECMO treatment, especially for critical coronavirus patients suffering from lung ailments.
The institute has also hired more technicians to operate the machines, which will help Covid patients, especially those referred outside for treatment.
It is worth mentioning that many critically-ill Covid patients requiring ECMO support were airlifted to other states for availing the costly treatment.
State Vigilance Director Debasis Panigrahi, who was infected with Covid-19, was airlifted to Kolkata for ECMO treatment. However, he died due to post-Covid complications. Similarly, a critically-ill youth, Abhisek Mohapatra was flown to Kolkata in an air ambulance for advanced ECMO treatment from the Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA).
A few days ago, the authorities of SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack also announced that the ECMO facility would be made available for critical patients at the top medical institute this month. As many as nine ECMO machines have been set up at the SCB with two separate units to cater to COVID and non-COVID critically ill patients.