Welcome to the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi Perfusion Conference. The theme will be “Learning from the Past, looking into the future”. On the 6th of May 1953, Dr John Gibbon Jr performed the first successful cardiac surgery under cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). This was the cornerstone which allowed the development of cardiac surgery around the world, and other types of therapies we currently look at as standard-of-care. The scientific developments required for CPB utilization in humans were of paramount importance for the progress of other medical specialities. This is certainly an occasion we could not miss, the celebration of the 70th anniversary of CPB, paying an homage to the pioneers in this field. We will tell the history of CPB, but we will also look into the future, learning from the past. We will provide an outlook on the future developments of CPB and its related techniques (ECMO, Assist devices, etc.). Your participation will be greatly appreciated. We’re confident this conference will contribute for you professional growth.