Medical School graduate marks another milestone with the ECMO legend who helped save her life

Author | Katie Whitney

Two people in black and green graduation robes share a happy moment of celebration in a crowded lobby. The woman on the left is younger and smiling or laughing. The older man on the right is carrying a cane and smiling at the woman.
Hannah Abraham (M.D. 2023) and Robert Bartlett (M.D. 1963) at the 2023 U-M Medical School graduation ceremony. Photo by Austin Thomason.

Hannah Abraham (M.D. & Ph.D. 2023) was born with her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. Close to asphyxiation, she was airlifted to C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and placed on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, where she remained for days. Robert Bartlett (M.D. 1963), professor emeritus of surgery, who is credited with developing ECMO, was part of the care team that saved Abraham’s life.

Decades later, Abraham enrolled at U-M, where she continued her relationship with Bartlett. She worked in his lab as an undergraduate, and she was even cloaked by Bartlett at the 2015 White Coat Ceremony when she began medical school.

In May, Abraham graduated from the Medical School, and Bartlett was there to mark another milestone in her life, giving Abraham her diploma during the commencement ceremony.

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