- Initial Statement of Beneficial Ownership (3)

FORM 3	UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES	OMB APPROVAL OMB Number: 3235-0104 Estimated average burden hours per response... 0.5
	Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

1. Name and Address of Reporting Person * Harris Taylor C.	2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (MM/DD/YYYY) 10/10/2012	3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol THORATEC CORP [THOR]
(Last)        (First)        (Middle) 6035 STONERIDGE DRIVE	4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check all applicable) _____ Director                            _____ 10% Owner ___ X ___ Officer (give title below)          _____ Other (specify below) VP, Chief Financial Officer /
(Street) PLEASANTON, CA 94588        (City)              (State)              (Zip)	5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed (MM/DD/YYYY)	6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line) _ X _ Form filed by One Reporting Person ___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security (Instr. 4)	2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4)	3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
Common Stock	18990   (1)	D

Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned ( e.g. , puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivate Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (MM/DD/YYYY)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Non-Qualified Stock Options (right to buy)	3/15/2011	3/15/2020	Common Stock	10000   (2)	$33.16	D
Non-Qualified Stock Options (right to buy)	3/1/2012	3/1/2021	Common Stock	5775   (3)	$27.30	D
Non-Qualified Stock Options (right to buy)	3/9/2013	3/9/2022	Common Stock	6447   (4)	$33.99	D

Explanation of Responses:
( 1)	Includes 15,229 unvested Restricted Stock Units. The restricted stock units vest in four equal annual installments commencing one year after the grant date.
( 2)	Represents 5,000 exercisable Non-Qualified Stock Options and 5,000 Non-Qualified Stock Options scheduled to vest as follows: 2,500 shares on 03/15/2013 and 2,500 shares on 03/15/2014
( 3)	Represents 1,444 exercisable Non-Qualified Stock Options and 4,331 Non-Qualified Stock Options scheduled to vest as follows: 1,444 shares on 03/01/2013, 1,444 shares on 03/01/2014 and 1,443 shares on 03/01/2015
( 4)	Represents 6,447 Non-Qualified Stock Options scheduled to vest as follows: 1,612 shares on 03/09/2013, 1,612 shares on 03/09/2014, 1,612 shares on 03/09/2015 and 1,611 shares on 03/09/2016

Reporting Owners
Reporting Owner Name / Address	Relationships
	Director	10% Owner	Officer	Other
Harris Taylor C. 6035 STONERIDGE DRIVE PLEASANTON, CA 94588			VP, Chief Financial Officer

Signatures
/s/Taylor C. Harris		10/17/2012
** Signature of Reporting Person		Date

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
Note:	File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.
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