ELSO

What ELSO does

ELSO (Extracorporeal Life Support Organization), founded in 1989 and headquartered at 3001 Miller Rd in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is an international nonprofit consortium that operates the world's largest ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) patient registry. The organization serves a global community of ECMO-providing healthcare institutions, clinicians (physicians, nurses, perfusionists, respiratory therapists), clinical researchers, and ECMO equipment manufacturers through four regional chapters: EuroELSO, Asia-Pacific ELSO, Latin-America ELSO, and South West Asia and Africa ELSO. Its core platform is the ELSO Registry, which holds over 280,283 submitted ECMO cases and is supported by a live dashboard, standardized complication and diagnosis codes, XML-based data import, and a quality reporting platform. The registry is used to support clinical research, regulatory agency decision-making, and individual member center benchmarking.

The organization monetizes through a three-tier membership model (center, corporate, and individual), with members receiving access to registry data, benchmarking, outcome prediction tools, guidelines, and education. Additional revenue streams include sales of authoritative publications (the ELSO Red Book and the ECMO Specialist Training Manual, now in its 5th Edition), conference and training fees (the 37th Annual Conference in Nashville, regional chapter conferences, the ELSO ECMO Academy for hands-on simulation in Ann Arbor, and online ELSO Foundations courses), and center certification plus the ELSO Award of Excellence in Life Support. Recent product launches (Adult Training Course in December 2021 and Neonatal & Pediatric Training Course in November 2024) indicate ongoing curriculum expansion. Non-monetized ecosystem infrastructure includes WhatsApp communities, an ECMO Discussion Board, the ECMO Supply Exchange, job listings, and a research grant program running through September 2026.

Go-to-market is community-led, relying on the website, social channels (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn), email newsletters, webinars, and in-person conferences as primary engagement and acquisition touchpoints. Distribution is primarily direct: institutional center and corporate memberships are sold enterprise-style, while individual memberships, online courses, and publications are sold mid-market via self-serve storefronts. ELSO has no disclosed funding rounds, no M&A activity, no leadership changes, and no headcount disclosure in the provided data; the organization is member-governed with an independent board of directors and no parent company.

Name

ELSO

Legal name

Extracorporeal Life Support Organization

Website

https://elso.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ELSO is an international nonprofit consortium founded in 1989 that operates the world's largest ECMO patient registry (280,000+ cases). It serves ECMO centers, clinicians, researchers, and medical device manufacturers globally through tiered membership, training, publications, and certification programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ann Arbor

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Three-tier membership model: center membership for healthcare institutions, corporate membership for industry partners, and individual membership for clinicians and researchers. Members gain access to registry data, benchmarking, education, and training resources.
2. Publications Sales: Sale of educational materials including ECMO Specialist Training Manual (5th Edition) and Extracorporeal Life Support: The ELSO Red Book, available in English or Spanish.
3. Conference and Training Fees: Revenue from annual conferences (ELSO Annual Conference, regional chapter conferences), workshops, simulation training courses, and endorsed ECMO education courses.
4. Center Certification and Awards: Fees associated with ELSO Award of Excellence application and center certification programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ELSO operates as an international nonprofit consortium supporting the global ECMO and extracorporeal life support (ECLS) community. It maintains the world's largest ECMO patient registry (over 280,000 submitted cases), delivers evidence-based clinical guidelines and educational programs, offers center and individual certification, publishes authoritative references (ELSO Red Book and ECMO Specialist Training Manual), and convenes annual conferences and training courses for healthcare institutions, clinicians, and industry partners.

Product overview

ELSO (Extracorporeal Life Support Organization) is an international nonprofit consortium offering a comprehensive platform for the ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) and ECLS (Extracorporeal Life Support) community. The core product is the ELSO Registry, the world's largest ECMO patient registry with over 280,000 submitted cases, which serves as the data backbone for clinical research, quality benchmarking, and patient care decisions. The platform is supported by education and training products including the ELSO ECMO Education program, ELSO ECMO Academy for in-person simulation training, ELSO Foundations Adult and Neonatal/Pediatric Training Courses, and individual/center certification programs. ELSO publishes authoritative references including the ELSO Red Book and ECMO Specialist Training Manual (5th Edition). Additional offerings include the Award of Excellence recognition program, Research Grant program, ECMO Equipment Updates with supply exchange, WhatsApp Communities, discussion boards, and annual conferences. The three-tier membership program (center, corporate, individual) provides access to guidelines, registry data, benchmarking, education, and training resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ECMO: Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation - a treatment technology supported by ELSO

Products and services

• ELSO Registry The world's largest ECMO patient registry containing over 280,000 submitted cases of extracorporeal life support. Used by ELSO member centers, clinical researchers, and regulatory agencies to support patient care decisions, treatment protocols, and clinical research, with features for data entry, XML import, approved data requests, and the Live Registry Dashboard.
• ELSO Membership Program Three-tier membership program (center, corporate, individual) providing member access to registry data, outcome benchmarking, research data requests, education, training resources, and directory inclusion.
• ELSO Award of Excellence Recognition program for ECLS centers demonstrating exceptional commitment to evidence-based processes, quality measures, staff training, continuing education, patient satisfaction, and ongoing care.
• Extracorporeal Life Support: The ELSO Red Book Comprehensive original research guide published by ELSO, available in English or Spanish, serving as a key reference for the ECMO and ECLS community.
• ECMO Specialist Training Manual Comprehensive practical guide for ECMO specialists, currently in its 5th Edition (released 2021). Covers the full spectrum of patient care from neonates to adults, including cardiac and respiratory dysfunction management.
• ELSO ECMO Guidelines Evidence-based clinical guidelines for ECMO and ECLS therapy, provided to members as part of the comprehensive guidance for patient care protocols.
• ELSO ECMO Education Program Continuing education program providing meetings, courses, workshops, online classes, hands-on simulation training, annual conferences, endorsed ECMO courses, individual certification, and the ELSO ECMO Academy for in-person training.
• ELSO Foundations Adult ECMO Training Course Online foundational ECMO training course for adult patient care, designed to provide essential knowledge and skills for healthcare professionals.
• ELSO Foundations Neonatal & Pediatric Training Course Specialized training course focused on ECMO management for neonatal and pediatric patient populations.
• ELSO ECMO Academy In-person training facility at ELSO Headquarters (3001 Miller Rd, Ann Arbor MI 48103) offering hands-on simulation courses including adult cannulation workshops, adult ECMO simulation, and neonatal/pediatric simulation courses.
• ELSO Individual Certification Professional certification program for ECMO specialists and practitioners, recognizing competency in extracorporeal life support.
• ELSO Center Certification Certification program for ECLS centers demonstrating compliance with quality standards, staff training requirements, and evidence-based processes.
• ELSO Live Registry Dashboard Real-time dashboard displaying live registry statistics for member centers, tracking submitted ECMO cases globally with metrics including total submitted cases (280,283), year-to-date cases (10,278), and ongoing case submissions (4,359).
• ELSO Annual Conference Annual conference bringing together the ECMO community for education, networking, and research presentation; the 37th Annual Conference is scheduled for September 28 - October 1, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee.
• ELSO Quality Reporting Platform Online quality reporting platform for ELSO member centers to support continuous quality improvement in ECMO care delivery and outcomes benchmarking.

Quantifiable outcome

• 280,283 total submitted ECMO cases in registry
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM): SCCM is a U.S.-based professional society for critical care practitioners with a comparable operating model to ELSO: tiered membership, clinical guidelines, registry activity, annual congress, and certification. Many ELSO members are also SCCM members, and both compete for ECMO education and guideline authority in the ICU.
• American Thoracic Society (ATS): ATS is a global medical society covering pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine with tiered membership, journals, practice guidelines, and an annual international conference - directly overlapping with ELSO's ARDS/ECMO respiratory failure domain and competing for the same clinician audience.
• Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS): STS is a U.S. cardiothoracic surgery society operating one of the largest clinical registries (STS National Database), with member tiers, accreditation, annual meetings, and guideline publications - closely mirroring ELSO's institutional-membership-plus-registry model for a related surgical specialty.
• American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC): AARC is a professional association for respiratory therapists - the clinician population most directly involved in delivering ECMO. It runs continuing education, certification, and publications on a similar dues + event model, making it a natural peer for ELSO's training and individual-membership business.
• International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT): ISHLT operates a global transplant registry, multi-tier membership, scientific meetings, and practice guidelines - structurally analogous to ELSO's registry + education + certification model, but focused on transplant and mechanical circulatory support, an adjacent patient population that increasingly overlaps with ECMO.
• American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST): CHEST is a U.S. physician specialty college offering membership, board review, simulation training, clinical guidelines, and an annual meeting - a closely analogous operating model to ELSO, serving pulmonologists and intensivists who are core ECMO prescribers.
• European Society of Intensive Care Medicine (ESICM): ESICM is the leading European intensive care society with membership tiers, congress, education, and guidelines overlapping with ELSO's ECMO critical-care scope. EuroELSO's regional positioning places ESICM in direct competition for European ECMO education and guideline authority.
• American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA): ASA is a large U.S. anesthesiologist society with tiered membership, continuing education, simulation courses, and guidelines. ECMO cannulation and perioperative management fall within ASA's domain, making it both a peer in operating model and a competitor for ECMO-related training content.

Regional players

• Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation related registry - ELSE (formerly ELSO Australia): ELSE (Extracorporeal Life Support Excellence) operates as a related regional ECMO registry and quality program in Australia/New Zealand. It demonstrates that national-level ECMO consortium models can emerge as alternatives or complements to ELSO's global registry, particularly where regional regulatory or funding dynamics differ.

Broad incumbents

• American Heart Association (AHA): AHA is a much larger U.S. nonprofit with tiered institutional and individual membership, ECC training/certification, scientific journals, and clinical guidelines. AHA's CPR/ECC certification infrastructure competes with ELSO's individual certification, and AHA's broader cardiovascular scope overlaps with ELSO's cardiac ECMO use cases.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/elsoorg
• Facebookfacebook.com/ELSO.Org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/elso-the-extracorporeal-life-support-organization-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ELSO