Abstract: Objective: To summarize the management experience of inter-hospital transfer for 11 critical patients with Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) from December 2016 to March 2018. Methods: A good plan to deal with possible problems in transfer, closely monitoring of patients' vital signs and ECMO system parameters, timely management of complications or accidents during transfer, serious shift changes between the two different hospitals, and self-designed "ECMO critical patient inter-hospital transfer checklist" was used to ensure a safe and effective transportation. Results: A total of 11 critical patients were transported with ECMO. The transport distance ranged from 6.5 km to 400.0 km, and the transport time was between 1.0 hour to 4.5 hours. All the patients showed stable respiratory and circulatory function and with no complications during transportation. Conclusions: It is feasible and safe to use ECMO in inter-hospital transfer of critical patients, with the supports of advanced equipments and a professional technical team. Inter-hospital transfer with ECMO saves valuable time for patients.

Key words: Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation; inter-hospital transport; critical patients; management