For years, scientists have been pursuing new methods to replace the function of vital organs because it is key to ensuring patient survival in certain operations, such as heart transplants. In Catalonia, we have had an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine for years. This extremely sophisticated device replaces the function of the heart or lungs. It is used in critically ill patients with severe heart or respiratory failure, as the machine temporarily replaces the function of the lungs or heart, allowing the organs to rest. Until now, however, the function of a vital organ had never been replicated in a person who lacked that vital organ. For the first time, a team of American scientists has saved the life of a man with a very serious lung disease who needed a double transplant and who spent two days without lungs thanks to an artificial lung that kept him alive until he received new organs.