On Wednesday 8^th May 2024, we saw the first St John Ambulance defibrillator donated to Doonside Technology High School in memory of Andrew Sitaramayya, a former student of Doonside and member of staff of St John Ambulance who died from a sudden cardiac arrest in September 2022.

Andrew, 45, was walking his dog in his neighbourhood in Sydney’s Inner West when he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. Bystanders stopped to assist, giving Andrew CPR and administering shocks from a nearby defibrillator before emergency services arrived, but Andrew sadly passed away.

Despite Andrew’s sudden death, his family has taken great comfort in knowing that everything that could be done was done to save his life, including the use of a defibrillator. Knowing he received such a high level of care and was not alone when he died gave solace to his family.

Andrew’s wife, Maria Sitaramayya, set up a GoFundMe page following his death, raising over $24,000 for St John Ambulance NSW, to provide defibrillators in schools across the state.

Andrews wife, Maria, St John Ambulance CEO Dominic Teakle and St John colleagues of Andrew joined the Doonside event, where a St John trainer supported the AED donation by showcasing CPR and defibrillator demonstrations, awareness training, and equipping Doonside students with the skills and confidence they need to help save a life.

The defibrillators have been donated to 12 schools in NSW, including Doonside Technology High School, several primary and secondary schools across the Sydney metro and regional NSW, one of which is specialist school for students with additional learning needs.  St John Ambulance will provide CPR and defibrillator awareness training at each of the schools, equipping students with the skills and confidence they need to help save a life.

Sudden cardiac arrest continues to be one of the leading causes of death in Australia with 30,000 Australians affected each year. Approximately 25,000 of these incidents occur outside of immediate hospital care, making the availability of defibrillators and CPR in local areas crucial to a person’s chance of survival, which drops 10 per cent for every minute without an AED shock or CPR.