O'ahu residents will have the opportunity Saturday to receive training in the American Heart Association's new cardiopulmonary resuscitation personal learning program. CPR Ohana kits will be distributed for families of those participating.

The American Heart Association has selected Honolulu County as one of 12 preview sites for its new program, locally called CPR Ohana, a new approach to teaching the basic skills of CPR. The CPR Ohana kits to be distributed contain materials for a self-directed educational experience that can be completed within 30 minutes. Once a person learns CPR via a CPR Ohana kit, he or she can share that knowledge with friends and family. Everyone in a household can learn the lifesaving skills of CPR with one kit.

Each year, more than 250,000 people across the country die from cardiac arrest, the American Heart Association reports. Nationally and in Hawai'i, the survival rate for cardiac arrest is 5 percent. Since about 70 percent of cardiac emergencies occur at home, CPR knowledge can save a life, buying valuable time until the patient undegoes defibrillation.

The Heart Association is distributing 500 free CPR Ohana kits as part of its preview. Those kits are provided through the Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.

Kits will be available for purchase in October. Those interested in buying them can call (800) 277-5463 (CPR-LINE) for information, beginning in October.