Three years ago, the Stenzel sisters published their memoir, “The Power of Two” (University of Missouri Press, 2007), in the United States and Japan, where their mother grew up. That book inspired Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Marc Smolowitz to pursue their story after he received a copy from an acquaintance, Isa’s husband, Andrew.

“The title is symbolic not only of the two sisters, but of the two sets of lungs they’ve had and the two lung donors who gave them a second chance at life,” said Smolowitz, who hopes to premiere the film at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in January . . . “Organ donation really struggles to meet the mainstream, especially in Japan, where the idea of transplanting organs has a cultural taboo,” he said. “We hope to use the film to demystify the process and inspire people to become organ donors.”

Thank you to all the good people at The Chronicle for broadcasting our efforts to raise the bar on organ donation! Our platform of digital storytelling requires the involvement of local, national and international community to make an impact on organ donation and transplantation, Cystic Fibrosis research, and related public health causes. It’s no coincidence that this article was released on Ana’s 10 year lung transplant anniversary, and we hope that her & Isa’s story will foster the gift of life to many, many more around the world.