On March 15, 2010, Todd and Tara Storch tragically lost their thirteen-year-old daughter, Taylor, in a ski accident in Colorado. Despite the unimaginable grief, the couple made the selfless decision to donate Taylor’s organs, including her heart, which was transplanted into Patricia Winters, a 42-year-old nurse and mother of two from Arizona. After a relative posted the connection on a transplant website, the Storches reunited with Winters and experienced the powerful ripple effect of their brave decision. Inspired, they wrote the book Taylor’s Gift (Baker Publishing Group, $15.99) to spread awareness of the beautiful gift organ and tissue donation can be.
Patricia Winters, a 42 year–old labor and delivery nurse and mother of two, felt a deep connection with the Storches family after receiving a life–saving heart transplant from the teenager. “Now I can walk, breathe, pick up my boys at school,” Winters expressed. “I have a tomorrow because of Taylor.” She further noted that her bond with the Storches family is strong, and when it comes time to leave them, she feels a deep ache inside. “It is so hard to explain,” Winters said. “There is so much to our relationship. As a parent, you never want to feel what Tara feels. If my child’s heart was in her body, I would want the same closeness that we have together.”
The Storches have since devoted their lives to raising awareness of organ and tissue donation. They created the Taylor’s Gift foundation (taylorsgift.org), which has hundreds of volunteers across the United States who organize speaking engagements, registration drives and education services about organ donation. The foundation has also worked with nail polish giant OPI to create the color “Taylor Blue” and the “Paint It Forward” campaign, which encourages supporters to paint their nails Taylor Blue and share a picture on social media, donating $1 for each painted nail to the foundation.
The Storches hope that their story will encourage people to register as organ and tissue donors and speak openly about the subject, as well as to raise Canada’s low organ donor registration rates. Currently, there are about 1,500 people awaiting life-saving organ transplants in Ontario alone, with one person dying every three days. Canada’s rates are one of the lowest among countries that perform transplants. The Storches encourage everyone to take one minute out of their day to register and have a conversation with their families, as it is essential to saving lives.
