The main objective of this endeavour was to establish an ECMO service in the Mangiagalli Neonatal Pathology Clinic.

ECMO stands for Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxigenation, and it is a technique which allows to support newborns suffering from a respiratory deficit. While this deficit can de bue to a variety of factors, this technique is generally used in cases involving a damage (temporary or permanent) to the lungs. This technique has been utilized for treating adults for years now, but it can only be used on newborns in few, highly specialized centers.

The Ca' Granda Foundation is home to some of the leading experts in the sector of Neonatal Pathology (among them, we find neonatologists, anesthesists and neonatal surgeons). Providing respiratory support to newborns, however, is a highly complex task, one for which these professionals have to be thoroughly prepared. A comprehensive training, composed of specifically designed courses, is therefore key for carrying out a successful ECMO. For this reason, Cieli Azzurri Onlus covered all the expenses necessary for the partecipation of both medical and nursing personnel from the Ca' Granda Foundation to this highly specialized training process. In March 2016, this training was first put to use by the Ca' Granda Foundation's personnel, when they successfully utilized the ECMO technique on a newborn suffering from a respiratory deficit.