Newborns born with respiratory failure or respiratory distress have a very low chance of survival. Techniques to treat these newborns have advanced over the years, but these treatments carry high risks. One technique that can treat these newborns is called extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO for short. The development of ECMO was a process that began before 1970 after the invention of the successful use of the disposable bubble oxygenator. This oxygenator was suitable for short periods of bypass, but did not allow the patient to use it for more than a couple of hours. Furthermore, this oxygenator was harmful to the blood due to the large contact area between blood and oxygen. In an effort to make a better oxygenator, the membrane oxygenator was created and followed by ECMO. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is used to treat two major health problems in newborns. The main reason is to provide respiratory support during functional deterioration (1), and the second reason is that patients requiring postoperative support after cardiac repair have been treated with ECMO, which has been increasingly successful (4). It is a way for the newborn's lungs to receive a recovery period during the bypass (5). When a baby is born and doctors conclude that he or she has breathing problems, the baby needs help as soon as possible. When a newborn is considered for ECMO, he or she must meet eight specific criteria. These eight points include “1. Gestational age of at least 35 weeks; 2. Weight greater than 2000 grams; 3. No structural heart disease; 4. Less than seven days (relative) or many days (absolute) of ventilatory support; 5. Reversible lung disease; 6. No intracranial hemorrhage or severe coagulopathy; 7. Failure… at the heart of the article… oxygenation is a life-saving treatment for respiratory failure. Works Cited(1) Lipton, B., Weinreich, A., Michal, V., & Jacobson, J.H. (1970, November). Respiratory failure treated with membrane oxygenator in hyperbaric chamber. CHEST Journal, 58(5), 513-517.(2) Lim, M.W. (2006). History of extracorporeal oxygenators. Association of Anesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland, 985-991.(3) Rodrigues-Cruz, E. (2013, 27 August). Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Retrieved from Medscape: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1818617-overview(4) Foglia, R. (1990). Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Current Opinion in Cardiology, 20-24.(5) Schumacher, R. E., Palmer, T., Roloff, D. W., LaClaire, P. A., & Barlett, R. H. (1991). Follow-up of newborns treated with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for neonatal respiratory failure. PEDIATRICS, 451-457.