At the age of 30 and with his whole life ahead of him, Ben Hayes, now 35, was a few moments from death. His kidneys had failed, his pancreas, liver, and all other vital organs were shutting down, and he was being flown from Ann Arbor, Mich., to the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio onboard a Kalitta Charters air ambulance for an emergency surgery. Hayes had a severely aggressive form of sarcoidosis in both of his lungs, and without a double-lung transplant, his life would surely perish that day, Dec. 3, 2004.
 
Hayes, a native of Michigan, looks back at that date as the day his life was given a second chance thanks in large part to the organization known as Donate Life America. Donate Life America assists in mobilizing the transplant community to educate the American public on the need for organ, eye, and tissue donation and motivating the public to make an actionable donor designation. It was through the organization's efforts that Hayes received donor lungs in only seven hours after being put on an immediate-need list.
 
“If it weren’t for the help of Donate Life America, I certainly would not be here today,” Hayes said. “I was in really bad shape, and it didn’t look good, but they were able to get me a new set of lungs and another shot at life. I can’t thank them enough for what they did for me and my family. The doctors that diagnosed my sarcoidosis said that they had only seen a couple of other cases as severe as mine, so I’m very lucky to be alive.”
 
Hawaiian Industrial Structures, the primary sponsor on the Kalitta Motorsports Top Fuel dragster being driven by Dave Grubnic this weekend at the NHRA Las Vegas Nationals at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, was founded in 2006 by Ben’s father, Dan Hayes. Decals for Donate Life America are also being displayed on the dragster to help garner awareness for organ donation.
 
“The donor of my new lungs also saved five other people that day by being an organ donor,” Hayes continued. “It’s so important to make the public aware of what they can do by donating organs. I know at least six people right now that are very thankful for the generosity of an organ donor.”
 
Currently 2,927 people are awaiting organ transplants in Michigan alone. There have been 670 transplants in Michigan already this year. Kalitta Motorsports is based in Ypsilanti, Mich., just a few miles west of Detroit.
 
For more information about Donate Life America, log on to www.donatelife.net.