Salt Lake City, August – Cynthia Bowers and her two daughters, Laura and Alyson, didn’t plan on becoming heroes. But that’s what happened. All three have donated a kidney to save a stranger’s life.

The Bowers donors sit behind their three kidney transplant recipients.

Through the Good Samaritan Kidney Donor Program, they are the ONLY family in the U.S. who have THREE living organ donors in the same family.

“I guess it’s some kind of record, but we are just glad to have saved three lives,” Cynthia said, who is a state employee. She and Laura, who is also a state employee, received 30-days paid leave for her organ donation thanks to a state policy. Alyson works in the private sector.

The three donors in the Bowers Family hosted a celebration of life picnic with the three kidney recipients and their families. With everyone together, it was exciting to see how their gifts had affected so many people.

Here is a brief description of each recipient: Cynthia's recipient - Lee Sosa, 47, lives in Roy, Utah with his wife. He has two daughters and 2 grandchildren with one more expected any day now. He worked in research and development for airbags for many years. He likes fishing, shooting pool, and drawing and painting.

Laura's recipient - Elizabeth Carpenter, early 20s, was able to finish her education and now works as a pharmacy technician with Medicare Company. She married her best friend Dean last winter. She enjoys hiking and camping.

Alyson's recipient - Nick Young, 20, has worked at Tony Roma's as a host and will be going to Salt Lake Community College this fall. He was born in Calcutta, India and was adopted at five months and raised by the best parents in the world. He lives in Sandy with his family. He loves to fish, go camping, and loves sports.

The Good Samaritan Living Kidney Donor Program is administered by the “Yes” Utah Donor Registry (www.yesutah.org or 866-YES-UTAH). The program matches living donors with patients waiting for a kidney transplant. Since its launch in 2003, over 700 Utahns have inquired about the program and 29 have already donated, saving 29 lives!