BOSTON -- A rare six-way surgical transplant was a success in Boston.

NewsCenter 5's Heather Unruh reported Wednesday that three people donated their kidneys to three people they did not know. The transplants happened one month ago at Massachusetts General Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess.

The donors and the recipients met Wednesday for the first time.

"She gave my son new life," said Collette Clifford.

It was an emotional day as three people who needed kidneys met the three people who saved their lives.

"It didn't matter who I donated to as long as I could help somebody," donor Lisa Dubois said.

"It's such a good gift that someone can donate and save your life, basically," said Ryan Clifford, who received a kidney.

The complex kidney swap involved six patients. Two of them tried to donate to a loved one, but they weren't a match. A third person just wanted to help. So in the end, all three donors ended up giving their kidneys to three complete strangers.

"It's an act of heroism," Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center's Dr. Martha Pavlakis said.

"It allows willing, medically incompatible donors to match them up with someone else, and this allows us to transplant patients who otherwise would have to go on a deceased donor waiting list and wait a long time for a kidney," New England Organ Bank Executive Director Richard Luskin said.

In the United States, 70,000 people are waiting for a kidney transplant. The New England Program for Kidney Exchange is a major step toward giving them a new life. It started 18 months ago in Boston. The six-patient operation that involved surgical teams at Beth Israel Deaconess and Massachusetts General Hospital was unprecedented.

"There were three donor operations followed almost immediately by three transplants happening simultaneously," Luskin said.

Doctors said it's the donors who made this kidney swap a success -- donors such as good Samaritan Dubois.

"After reading an article in the local newspaper, I called to do whatever possible to help somebody. I donated to Ryan. I didn't know who he was. All I knew was he was a 21-year-old boy who needed it," Dubois said.

"For me to meet Lisa, it was truly a gift," Collette Clifford said.

Collette Clifford donated her kidney to Rene. His brother, Robert, then gave his kidney to Chris Santamaria.

"To get a kidney from a complete stranger from someone you don't know and have them be a complete match is incredible," Santamaria said.

"Three people got new life," Collette Clifford said.

"It's a domino effect that keeps life going," Dubois said.