An AED saved Damar Hamlin's life. Ohio will soon require schools, rec centers to have them

An automated external defibrillator helped save the life of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin after he collapsed during a Cincinnati Bengals game in 2023. Soon, Ohio will require schools to have AEDs to save even more young athletes' lives.

House Bill 47 would require public schools, charter schools and most public recreation centers to have AEDs on-site in case an athlete or spectator has a sudden cardiac arrest. The device delivers an electrical shock to help the heart return to its regular rhythm.

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The bill is headed to Gov. Mike DeWine's desk after a unanimous vote in the Ohio Senate, and the House approved minor changes.

"If these devices are important enough to have here at the state capital and are ready to use for our pro athletes, then they are important enough to have in our schools and other youth sports locations," said Sen. Steve Huffman, R-Tipp City.

Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death in young athletes, according to the Mayo Clinic . Somewhere between 1 in 50,000 and 1 in 80,000 young athletes die of sudden cardiac death each year.

Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, talked before the vote about how an AED saved her father's life when he had a heart attack while volunteering at her niece's school.

"Someone had the wherewithal as he was having a heart attack to find the AED on site, to use it to bring him back and we had 10 more years with him," Antonio said.

Hamlin suffered a sudden cardiac arrest while playing in Cincinnati last year. He was resuscitated and later cleared to return to football . Since that time, Hamlin has advocated for more access to AEDs and CPR.

After the Ohio bill is signed, the state health department will develop a model emergency action plan that schools can use. Schools also must train teachers, principals, coaches, athletic trainers and others on how to use AEDs.

Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: An AED saved Damar Hamlin's life. Ohio will soon require schools, rec centers to have them