Former Minnesota Gophers and Vikings player Ben Williams went for a routine checkup in June of 2015. He was told that his kidneys were operating at 15% of their normal function.

“I consider myself fairly tough, and some of the things I went through made me really question my passions in life and what more I could do,” Williams said Tuesday.

Williams, who played as a defensive lineman for the Gophers until 1992 and for the Vikings in 1998, received a kidney transplant that November from an 18-year-old donor who’d passed away. He said that all the things he’s been able to do since the operation are thanks to the gift of his donor. He went on to receive an MBA from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, is actively pursuing law at Columbia University and became the first president of the National Football League Players Association in Minnesota.

“I’m on a journey to try to make this second chance as exciting if not more exciting than the NFL half of my life,” Williams said.

LifeSource, a federally designated nonprofit organization that manages the organ donation process for Minnesota, announced a new public awareness campaign Tuesday at the Minnesota Driver and Vehicle Services office in downtown St. Paul, encouraging everyone, but especially men, to “join Bigfoot” in the big heart club during their next visit to the DMV. Williams shared his story at the event along with others who’ve been impacted by organ donation.

“Every number counts and when you have 50% of men not registering, that impacts how many lives we can save,” LifeSource CEO Kelly White said.

‘We need more men’

According to a national survey by LifeSource, 90.4% of adults in the United States support organ donation, but only 51% of Minnesota men are registered. Men are also at a greater need for transplants as 62% of people on the state’s donor waitlist are men.

“End goal, we need more men to participate in the program,” Williams said. “We need more organs total because I was lucky myself.”

Liver transplant recipient Jay Beyer-Kropuenske shared Williams sentiment, saying he was a couple of months away from death before his operation. Being a donor recipient means he’s been able to see his children graduate from high school and college and to help his own parents as they age.

“Men just need to think about how it could potentially be them because I never thought that I would ever be needing an organ or two in my case,” Beyer-Kropuenske said.

Bigfoot, the campaign’s mascot, is reportedly a member of the big heart club and also represents myths and misconceptions about organ donation. LifeSource aims to answer questions people have about being a donor with educational resources, according to White.

Thomas Leventhal, a transplant hepatologist and intensive care physician, said people are sometimes hesitant to become donors because they fear they’ll be giving up something or even allowed to die in the hospital if their organs are in need.

As a doctor, he assures people that this is not the case.

“I think it’s about helping people understand, you’re not giving anything up. If anything, you’re helping to create more opportunity,” Leventhal said.

White said men often have becoming a donor on their to-do list, but don’t make it a priority. She said people also worry that if they have preexisting medical conditions they can’t register.

“We always tell people to register, and as experts we’re the ones that can help determine whether they can go on to be a donor,” White said.

Another factor for communities of color is a distrust of medical professionals, Williams said. He said that in the past 100 years, health care systems have not been very positive for underserved communities and he can understand why people hold the fear. Yet high blood pressure greatly affects the African-American community, Williams said, and he’s lost family members who were on an organ waiting list for more than 10 years.

“Statistics show that we have a higher need, so we need more men and more men of color to be involved,” Williams said.

A donor’s dad

Gary Bougie, whose donor son unexpectedly died at 35, said he doesn’t understand why anyone would hesitate to sign up. He said it’s a very simple process and that the oldest organ donor was 95.

“We’re all going to pass away, so checking the box that you’re going to be a donor doesn’t mean you’re signing a life sentence, that you’re going to die young,” Bougie said.

Finding purpose in life after losing his son was extremely difficult, but what helped Bougie begin to heal was receiving a letter from his son’s recipient, an avid competitive tennis player who was able to play again because of his son’s donation.

“Don’t get me wrong, I want my son back,” Bougie said. “I want him back. But he’s helped dozens and dozens of people.”

Bougie said his son was a tissue donor and he helped people in 25 states.

“If I’m going to lose a loved one, what better way to honor him, his legacy, his memory, his spirit by helping dozens of people, only because we checked the box,” Bougie said.

Those interested in becoming a donor can do so at any Driver and Vehicle Services office in the state, when applying for a fishing or hunting license, via lifesourcedonorregistry.org or in a living will.

“I have yet to meet a donor family that was sorry they said yes,” Bougie said during his speech.