Five-day partial bypass using a membrane oxygenator without systemic heparinzation.

These studies indicate that a heparin bound membrane oxygenator can be used in venovenous bypass circuit in dogs for a period of 5 days without systemic heparinization. The plasma SGOT, plasma hemoglobin, and MLW of the animals increased after initiation of bypass but returned to control levels. Oxygen transfer did not deteriorate in the membrane oxygenator, eliminating the necessity of membrane exchange during the 5-day bypass.