David Sullivan, a member of Barbican Lodge No 8494, has installed a defibrillator on Mount Everest – and it’s already saving lives.

David runs the Creating Lifesavers organisation, which aims to raise awareness of the importance of CPR and is installing ever more defibrillators across the country. But his charitable efforts have taken him further afield too. His Creating Lifesavers defib is installed at a height of 20,000ft up the world’s highest peak.

The climb was arduous, but two weeks after returning home, David was told that his work had already saved the life of a climber who had got into difficulties. He therefore says it’s "the most amazing thing I've ever done".

He told the BBC, “At 4am my phone pinged. I thought it was one of my children. But it came from a sherpa 20,000 ft up Mount Everest. Our defibrillator was activated to save a young French lady's life."

In Nepal, David also donated equipment to local communities, along with the CPR training to use it. And back home, he continues Creating Lifesavers' work with a CPR course for schools planned for launch in September.

This article is part of the Arena Magazine Issue 58 – Summer 2025 edition.
Arena Magazine is the official online magazine of the London Freemasons – Metropolitan Grand Lodge and Metropolitan Grand Chapter of London.

Read more articles in Arena Issue 58 here.

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