For patients with severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), receipt of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) (1) may improve survival. During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the number of patients with COVID-19 referred for ECMO has exceeded the capacity of specialized centers to provide ECMO (2, 3). The outcomes of patients with COVID-19 who are eligible to receive ECMO but do not because of limited health system capacity have not been reported.
