Taylor’s Gift Foundation Expands Emotional Support Program for Donor Families to LOPA
Innovative Initiative Fills Gap for Families Whose Loved Ones Donate the Gift of Life
New Orleans, Louisiana (March 2, 2023) – Taylor’s Gift Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting families of organ, tissue and eye donors, announced today that Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency (LOPA) has partnered with them to offer its grief support program, “Kindred Hearts,” designed specifically for donor families.
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"Our goal with the Kindred Hearts program is to provide dedicated grief support to families of organ and tissue donors," said Tara Storch, co-founder of Taylor's Gift Foundation. "With our Kindred Hearts Program, we step into that space, providing donor families with caring support and also the ability to connect with people who have experienced similar emotional pain and trauma. We don’t want financial constraints ever to be a reason that a donor family isn’t able to get the emotional support they need, so all of our services have no fees.”
Donor families from across the country who participate in Taylor’s Gift Kindred Hearts Program receive a personal Caring Guide trained to help them navigate their grief journey and access support groups. The groups are offered virtually for individual and family groups.
Nila Schwab, LOPA Family Services Coordinator, states,“As a Family Services Coordinator, it is an honor to partner with Taylor’s Gift in offering the Kindred Hearts Program. This dedicated grief support adds an additional layer of support for families along their grief journey at no cost. The staff and Caring Guides at Taylor’s Gift Kindred Hearts Program are responsive, genuine and knowledgeable in the area of grief support. We are grateful to have this resource to offer the donor families in our area.”
Thirteen years ago, Storch and her husband, Todd, were searching for similar emotional support when they lost their oldest child, Taylor, in a tragic skiing accident. Taylor went on to become an organ donor, saving and improving the lives of five people. While this fact brought comfort to the Storches, it also surfaced many other emotions they weren't equipped to handle. Their own personal experience motivated them to create their nonprofit organization, Taylor’s Gift Foundation, and subsequently, the Kindred Hearts Program.
"LOPA looks forward to offering the Kindred Hearts Program and believes our donor families will greatly benefit from the resources it will provide," said Kelly Ranum, CEO of LOPA. "When someone becomes an organ and tissue donor, the death is sudden and unexpected, leaving family members reeling and trying to process such a sudden and unexpected loss. To know that Taylor’s Gift was created by a donor family who understand this kind of grief is good because they can really relate.”
Dr. Macey Levan, Associate Professor of Surgery and Population Health for NYU Lagone Health and the Center for Surgical and Transplant Applied Research Qualitative Core director, has been working with Taylor's Gift Foundation on the Kindred Hearts Program. Currently, she and her team are working on a pilot program and research study surrounding the program.
"Organ donation and transplantation can be difficult to understand, especially for a family suffering a traumatic loss. Our team of researchers is working on national efforts with Taylor's Gift Foundation's Kindred Hearts Program to improve the care of donor families by offering dedicated emotional support and improving the culture of organ donation in America. We know the Kindred Hearts Program can fill a community need that we have determined through our ongoing research," said Levan.
Taylor's Gift Foundation hopes to offer the Kindred Hearts Program to organ procurement organizations (OPOs) nationwide so that donor families can access the emotional support they so desperately need as they cope with such devastating losses.
“We know, from personal experience, that organ and tissue donation for a donor family is a mix of grief and gratitude,” said Storch. “It’s grief from the sudden loss mixed with the gratitude that your loved one was able to save lives. Taylor's Gift is honored to offer free emotional resources so that no donor family ever grieves alone.”
For more information about Taylor's Gift Foundation, visit taylorsgift.org. For more information about LOPA, visit lopa.org.
About Taylor's Gift Foundation
Taylor's Gift Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that provides emotional support to organ donor families. Founded in 2010, Taylor's Gift has a long-standing history of helping individuals and families walk the path of grief. Led by a donor family, professionals, and trained volunteers, their programs provide a safe environment for families and individuals to express feelings and emotions and the opportunity to walk with others who are experiencing a grief journey similar to their own. In 2021, they launched the Kindred Hearts Program to help organ donor families receive emotional support. For more information, visit www.TaylorsGift.org.
About LOPA
As the organ procurement organization for Louisiana, we help save lives, restore health and enhance medical care through organ and tissue donation. We are a non-profit that services our state’s diverse community by supporting families through tragic loss, during the donation process, and along their grief journey. Our team is passionate about sharing the impact of donation and educating professionals and the community.
Listen to episode 193 of the Gifted Life Podcast, where Tara Storch joins our hosts to share details about the Kindred Hearts Program.
