Martha Lillard, last known US polio survivor using iron lung, dies aged 78

Martha Lillard rests in her iron lung on 6 February 2026 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Photograph: Cindy McVey/AP

The last known US person living with polio and relying on an iron lung has died aged 78.

Martha Lillard, who contracted polio at age five and spent most of her life dependent on an iron lung machine that helped her breathe, died on 26 June in Oklahoma, according to an online obituary.