Gift of Life: Healthcare industry veteran shares story of second chance at life | Lehigh Valley Regional News

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – April is National Donate Life Month. 69 News has teamed up with the Gift of Life organization to bring stories of organ donation in our community.

Dan Bair has worked in healthcare for years, and knew something was very wrong with his body, but never expected he would need a heart transplant.

He chronicled his experience in a book he put together called, “Second Chance in 2023 – A Life Changing Journey to the Edge and Back.”

In the book it begins by saying – “It starts out rarely in a man’s life is anyone faced with the three options that I was staring down in March 2023, heart transplant, lifelong mechanical heart assist, or death. As weird as it sounds, I don’t expect many people to understand it. I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to experience something as profound, enlightening, and life changing as this.”

It all started months before.

“It was the spring of 2023,” said Bair. “I started getting short of breath in places that I shouldn’t have gotten short of breath; like walking across the Target parking lot.”

So, he went to his doctor and then a specialist and there were lots of tests and screenings. It wasn’t good news. Bair said, “The marker for heart failure was through the roof. I think normal for a person is 25, mine was about 4,000.”

His heart was also enlarged. “They started to talk about transplant with me almost right out of the gate – obviously terrifying,” he said.

Even more terrifying because Bair worked as a respiratory therapist and also managed cardiovascular service lines for 15 years. He’s now the Vice President of Clinically Integrated Networks for Jefferson Health. “I know exactly what’s going on with me, which made it more scary, because I knew something very bad was happening,” he said.

The ICU became his home while he waited and waited for his new heart.

“I don’t ever want to forget what happened while I was here was part of the reason that I put this book together,” said Bair.

He says he tried to stay positive, but there were moments.

“Everybody says it will come, but when you’re when you’re waiting,” said Bair. “I got to the point where I said, ‘you say it’s going to come, but is it?’ You know what makes that guarantee? There is no guarantee.”

After 4 months of living in the hospital on machines, it was Bair’s time.

“I got my second chance at life.” he said.

He spent two more weeks in the hospital recovering in a completely different mindset.

“I went around and took as many selfies with the staff as I could,” said Bair. “You can see in these pictures, they were my family and they treated me like family.”

He knew there was another family he had to thank.

“I wrote a thank you letter to the donor family probably nine months after surgery, I didn’t hear anything and I understand that’s common,” said Bair.

He knows that person is always with him.

“When I go out on walks, I have a conversation, sometimes I have active conversations with him or her,” said Bair. “I call the donor my angel.”

Now, he’s not just living life for himself, but for the donor as well.

Bair said, “I would like to think that whoever it was, and whoever their family are, they would be happy to see a story like this.”

The Gift of Life organization is celebrating its 50th anniversary. To celebrate, they are hoping to sign-up 50,000 people to become organ donors.

You can learn more or sign-up at