Taylor Storch of Coppell, Texas was always known as a caring, giving young woman.
“Taylor was so giving of her time and so open to help,” said Taylor’s father Todd Storch. “My daughter was an amazing kid, and she touched the world in merely 14 years more than a whole lot of people would their whole lives.”
But no one could’ve guessed that her greatest gift would involve saving lives through organ donation.
“Taylor was able to save 5 people,” said Storch.
What started as a family vacation for the Storch family quickly ended with the loss of their daughter in a ski accident and a heartbreaking, but vital decision.
“When we knew what we were dealing with, when we knew what we were faced with, and the rep came in and asked if we would consider organ donation the answer was yes,” said Storch. “I mean, Taylor was such a giving child. It was like, well of course we’ll do that, so there was no hesitation at all.”
Through the loss of Taylor’s young life, donor recipients received a new lease on their own. Seeing this outcome has prompted Storch’s family to make what they say is a much needed change in organ donation education.
“There’s a lot of misconceptions about it, and the main reason is just the lack of information,” said Storch.
Ron Earl of LifeGift, a Houston-based not-for-profit organization, knows all too well the importance of organ donation education.
“Every 13 minutes another patient is added to the list for a life saving transplant, and unfortunately 17 to 18 people die every day just waiting and never afforded that opportunity for that second chance due to the lack of availability for that organ transplant,” said Managing Director of LifeGift Ron Ehrle.
This is where the Storch’s want to make a difference. Their vehicle for change is Taylor’s Gift, the organ donation education program named after their daughter.
“We want to increase awareness and make organ donation from a supply side go away specifically by educating the youth,” said Storch. “We’re going to do that through school systems, churches and camps. We want to help this generation end the need for organ donation.”
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August 19th, 2010 at 11:56 am
Erica,
You guys did an outstanding job on putting this story together. What a brave and wonderful family to carry on Taylor’s legacy in this fashion. The truth is, organ donation saves lives; it is just that simple. Hearing this family’s story will no doubt make others think about signing up on the state-wide Texas donor registry! Thank you on behalf of those who wait for life-saving organs…you made a difference. Lydia
August 19th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
You have misspelled Ron Ehrle’s last name. If you can fix the spelling it would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Josh Ehrle