This Tuesday on tpt 2, see the human side of cutting-edge medicine in Transplant: A Gift for Life, co-produced by tpt National Productions and Minneapolis filmmaker Dennis Mahoney.

In this one-hour documentary follow various stories about transplants: A daughter offers to donate half of her liver to save her father's life; the recipient of a lung transplant reaches out to his deceased donor's family; two mothers nurse their sons through multiple transplants and only one gets a happy ending. Due to a shortage of donors, 19 Americans a day die waiting for organ transplant.

Told with amazing intimacy and honesty, this film offers a compelling window on the ethical and moral dilemmas in the practice of modern medicine.

At 57 years old, filmmaker Dennis “Denny” Mahoney passed out walking around a Minneapolis lake. Previously healthy, he learned that he required a liver transplant. Mathew Keiser, his nephew, volunteered and in 2008, donated 60 percent of his liver. Both men recovered well from surgery, and Denny subsequently founded Miracles for Life Worldwide to help others in the same way Mathew had helped him. Denny worked tirelessly for Miracles for Life as well as on Transplant: A Gift for Life until his death from cancer (unrelated to his transplant) in 2012.

"'Transplant: A Gift for Life' is a must-see for all Minnesotans due to the urgent need for donors," said John Whitehead, co-producer of the film. "It was a huge honor for me to work with such a tireless advocate and creative artist as Denny Mahoney."

See a preview of the documentary below and be sure to watch Tuesday, March 20 at 9 p.m. on tpt 2.