Donna Drury

Director
Transplant Services Center

First UTSW job: Transplant Technician I.

Best part about my job: Being able to positively impact so many lives with a single process. My favorite example of the impact of donation is an elementary teacher who received a cornea transplant: Without sight, she could not have continued teaching. Think of all the lives a teacher impacts, and you see the ripple effect of donation.

What energizes me at work: Being able to share my passion for eye and tissue donation.

How co-workers describe me: Dedicated, hardworking, and goal-oriented.

Recipe for success: Three things my parents instilled in me and my brother through sports: Quitting is not an option; give 110% at everything you do; and have good sportsmanship.

Best UTSW memory: Being promoted to Director of the Transplant Services Center (TSC) on Sept. 1, 2010. Within a month of starting at TSC in 1992, I knew I had found my career and decided my goal was to become Director of the Center. After 18 years of hard work, I reached my goal.

Hobbies: Riding bicycles and motorcycles, kayaking, paddleboarding, hiking, and traveling.

Surprising fact: I was extremely shy in high school.

Claim to fame: Receiving the 2020 Leonard Heise Award from the Eye Bank Association of America. The national award is presented to eye bankers in recognition of outstanding devotion to the Association’s development and for exemplifying the precepts of Mr. Heise, one of the Association’s founders.