The Legend: Dr. Robert Hawes Bartlett and Extracorporeal Life Support Organization

Dr. Robert Hawes Bartlett, universally recognized as the Father of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), dedicated his life to revolutionizing critical care medicine. From premature infants to elderly patients with heart or lung failure, his innovations offered countless individuals a second chance at life. Today, ECMO is a standard of care worldwide–a testament to his vision, perseverance, and pioneering spirit.

Dr. Bartlett’s journey began as a surgical resident at Peter Bent Brigham and Children’s hospitals, where he was encouraged by Dr. Robert E. Gross to improve the artificial membrane lung. Embracing this challenge, he devoted decades to refining ECMO technology. In 1989, he founded the extracorporeal life support organization (ELSO), a global platform that promotes research, collaboration, and training in ECMO. Today, the ELSO registry records over 100,000 lives saved a direct reflection of Dr. Bartlett’s extraordinary contributions.^[1-6]

An academic trailblazer, Dr. Bartlett earned his medical degree with honors from the University of Michigan and completed a distinguished surgical residency, holding leadership roles such as Chief Resident in Thoracic Surgery and various fellowships at Harvard Medical School. In 1970, he joined the University of California, Irvine, where he treated the first adult ECMO patient in 1971 and the first neonatal patient in 1975—a baby fondly named Esperanza (“Hope”) by her nurses, symbolizing the optimism that ECMO brings to patients and families worldwide [Figure 1].

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Figure 1:

Robert Bartlett the “Father of ECMO”, with the first ECMO survivor “Esperanza Pineda” who gave hope, for ECMO to be a champion survivor in critical care ICU’s and many other indications for ECMO, developed by Dr. Robert H. Bartlett and Dr. Theodor Kolobow.

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In 1980, Dr. Bartlett returned to the University of Michigan, establishing the extracorporeal life support research laboratory and expanding ECMO programs to serve patients of all ages. Through ELSO, he nurtured a global community of clinicians and researchers, advancing both clinical practice and technological innovation. His achievements were recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including honors from the American College of Surgeons, the Society of Critical Care Medicine, and international surgical societies.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Dr. Bartlett was a compassionate mentor, educator, and humanist. He freely shared his innovations, believing that medical progress should benefit humanity rather than personal gain. Outside the hospital, he pursued music, sailing, and hockey, enjoying life with his wife Wanda, and their three children. Dr. Bartlett leaves behind a remarkable legacy of intellect, compassion, and life-saving innovation that will continue to inspire physicians and caregivers around the world.

In loosing the legend, the legacy lives on at ELSO, with global ECMO centres across the world, and with ELSO created by the legend paving the way, to be the Global Hub, of maximum Registry^[7] of ECMO cases globally. He left a light and a trial of ECMO togetherness in all who touched his life.