ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) is a life-sustaining machine acting as an artificial heart and lungs, used when a patient's own organs fail, allowing them to rest and recover by oxygenating blood and removing carbon dioxide. It provides support for severe heart/lung conditions like ARDS, heart attacks, COVID-19, or during recovery from surgery, using tubes (cannulae) inserted into large blood vessels to circulate blood through an external oxygenator before returning it to the body. There are two main types: Veno-Venous (VV) for lung support and Veno-Arterial (VA) for both heart and lung support, with risks including bleeding, clots, and infection.