Cardiopulmonary /Extracorporeal Life Support Department has the special technology of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) , the basic principle of which is to drain the venous blood to the artificial heart-lung machine through the vascular cannula, and after oxygenation, it returns to the vein (VV ECMO) or artery (VA ECMO). It is the most advanced means of life support for heart and/or lung failure where traditional treatment is ineffective, and also is the highest manifestation of the hospital's comprehensive strength.

In addition, the department is also responsible for the extracorporeal circulation of pediatric heart surgeries and autologous blood transfusion during surgeries.

There are 8 members in the department, 2 with doctor degree, and 5 with master degree, among whom there are 1 chief physician, 1 deputy chief physician, 1 deputy chief technician, 3 attendings, 1 resident, and 1 supervisor nurse.

Dr. Lin Ru, the academic leader of department, is well-known in the field of in vitro life support in China and abroad. The ECMO team won the honorary title ——the “Most Beautiful Angel” team in 2018.

ECMO is one of the highlights of the hospital, which has been carried out since 2007. The hospital is one of the earliest children's hospitals in China that has developed this advanced technology to save lives of children with extremely critical illnesses, including fulminant myocarditis, severe ARDS, diaphragmatic hernia in newborns, difficulty in weaning from the ventilation after cardiac surgery, etc. For more than a decade, the survival rate of ECMO has been ranked in the leading position in children's hospitals in China and abroad. In order to provide patient centered care, the department has successfully developed inter-hospital and intra-hospital transfer technology with ECMO. The ECMO team is capable of carrying out complex extracorporeal circulation operations for children at low age and low body weight. Perioperative blood management, especially autologous blood transfusion is enhanced to reduce allogeneic blood transfusion, save blood resources, and reduce the potential risk of allogeneic blood transfusion.