There are 10 primary criteria that are used to evaluate a candidate for ECMO. Since ECMO is a treatment for severe respiratory failure and only reversible lung disease, strict criteria should be followed to judge it use.

There are some underlying situations that even in the presence of treatable lung disease, the patient still should not be placed on ECMO. This is because the ECMO itself may worsen that condition or the mortality and morbidity is to high.