Restrictive Versus Liberal Thresholds for RBC Transfusion in ECMO

Rationale: In patients supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), transfusion of red blood cells (RBC) is very common. This is possibly due to the application of liberal thresholds and the lack of evidence-based guidelines. Although RBC transfusion can be lifesaving, it is also a risk-bearing intervention with substantial risk for morbidity and mortality in this critically ill population. Also, with increasing scarcity, RBC transfusions are becoming more expensive. Furthermore, in the past decades it has been shown in several critically ill patient populations - not on ECMO - that maintaining a restrictive hemoglobin (Hb) threshold for RBC transfusion is non-inferior, including in cardiothoracic surgery, acute myocardial infarction and septic shock. Therefore, the investigators hypothesize that a restrictive transfusion threshold for RBC is safe to apply in patients on EC