PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – When a person receives a life-saving transplant, it is a moment they will never forget. And in some cases, it creates a bond between patient and donor.

This bond is clearly visible between three women, starting with Maggie Beer, who was very ill at a young age.

“I knew I was different. I couldn’t play sports, I was always tired,” Beer said.

Beer was diagnosed with kidney disease and needed a new kidney quickly. Her family was tested and her father was a suitable donor. He donated a kidney to her and Beer was able to live a normal life again, but that only lasted seven years.

“Then I had to undergo dialysis and wait for another kidney,” Beer said.

She was in her twenties at the time, was becoming increasingly ill and felt lonely.

“My friends were traveling, going to school, starting careers and families, and all I could do was sit in a chair and look out the window,” Beer said.

“Maggie was killed by the kidney disease, but she was also unable to live her life,” said Beer’s aunt Erin Phillips.

Phillips wanted to give her niece time to experience life, so in 2011 she took a test and found out she was a match for the virus.

“Now we are 13 years later. She was able to travel and work in Japan,” Phillips said.

And the connection in this family continues. Beer’s sister, Jennifer Carpenter, always knew she wanted to be a doctor, but she didn’t know what for. She says fate helped her make the decision.

“I think it was a higher power telling me to do this. When I became receptive to it, I felt like this was the right place for me,” said Carpenter, who is now director of the Living Donor Kidney Program at Allegheny General Hospital.

It was no surprise to Beer that her sister wanted this job.

“She probably said, ‘Oh, sure you have to do the hardest thing. You always have to do everything the hardest way,'” Dr. Carpenter said.

Today, when the three meet at family celebrations, their relationship takes on a whole new meaning.

“She took out my left kidney and even at family gatherings or something, I always ask, ‘How’s Lefty? How’s Lefty?'” Phillips said.