Bills' Damar Hamlin Makes Capitol Hill Trip, Stresses Importance of AED Access, CPR

Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin made a trip to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to advocate for the availability of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) at youth athletic events.

According to The Hill's Judy Kurtz, Hamlin said he's hoping to "help and protect young people" by stressing the importance of AEDs and CPR, both of which helped save his life when he collapsed on the field during a Monday Night Football game on Jan. 2.

"As I was growing up playing football, I don't recall ever thinking about CPR, or knowing where an AED was in my school or on the athletic field," Hamlin said at a news conference alongside a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Washington, D.C. "With my coaches on the field and my family in the stands, we didn't plan what would happen if sudden cardiac arrest happened to me, or one of my teammates."

Hamlin was on hand to help present the Access to AEDs Act, which was formally introduced by Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-Fla.) and Bill Posey (R-Fla.). According to Kurtz, "proponents say the legislation would establish grants for CPR and AED training in elementary and secondary schools across the country." The proposed legislation "would also authorize the purchase of AEDs for schools, and create awareness campaigns and cardiac emergency response plans."

Hamlin was resuscitated twice and hospitalized after suffering cardiac arrest during Buffalo's game against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bills' medical team used an AED to stabilize him on the field. The 25-year-old is hoping that the Access to AEDs Act helps "ensure that schools are just as prepared and trained to respond in a time of crisis as those on the sideline of an NFL game."

"Sudden cardiac arrest happens to more than 7,000 kids under the age of 18 every year in our country," Hamlin said, citing data from the American Heart Association. "For schools that have AEDs, the survival rate for the children from sudden cardiac arrest is seven times higher. ... Every kid should have the same access to a lifesaving emergency response that I did, should they need it."

During his appearance on Wednesday, Hamlin received support from Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who said he will try to "bring my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on board and get this bill [to] become a law and passed this year."