Doreen Murphy has always been someone who cares—for the patients she saw at an OBGYN practice, the colleagues who helped start a call center at an eye bank, her friends and family, and now her team at Eversight. Caring for others has always guided her journey.
Born and raised in Michigan, Doreen thought her path would be one filled with faith and ministry. In a way, it still is, but she never expected that for the past 17 years, she would play a vital role in the tissue distribution process at Eversight, a nonprofit eye bank serving those in need across the country and around the world.
After studying theology at Siena Heights University, Doreen realized parish ministry wasn’t the right fit. A second job in medical records at the University of Michigan opened the door to health care, and eventually to a Catholic OBGYN practice where her ministry experience and compassion made her a natural fit.
At the practice, she spoke daily with families experiencing both joy and heartbreak—interactions that would one day equip her to lead a team of people responsible for matching corneal tissue from a person who lost their life to a transplant recipient who would regain or even discover vision for the first time.
“I knew nothing about cornea transplants or cornea donation,” Doreen said. “I didn't even know eye banks existed. I got an interview and thought, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’, truly still not understanding the process.”
Discovering eye banking: Finding purpose by chance
Doreen discovered Midwest Eye-Banks, now Eversight, completely by chance—she simply came across a job posting online and decided to apply. She didn’t have a connection to donation or transplantation, and starting in the Communication and Logistics Center in 2009, now the Donation Support Center, felt overwhelming at first.
“I sat there going, ‘How am I here?’ Because everybody seemed to have a connection,” she said. “I didn’t know anybody.”
Determined to succeed, she immersed herself in training.
“I quickly started to understand what we do and what my role would be,” she said. “I was a single mom, motivated to have a job and do well. I was nervous about talking to the donor families because it's a unique conversation and can be a very hard conversation. But 17 years later I can still tell you about many of those conversations. They left an imprint. The connections were made and the impact was felt. I began to understand the importance of the work done throughout the organization.”
Less than a year later, she transitioned to the Tissue Distribution department. Her roots remained the same; helping others in need, but it was in this new role that Doreen would find her purpose.
A look into Tissue Distribution
Eversight’s Tissue Distribution team—four coordinators, one supervisor and their director, Doreen—carries forward the generosity of every donor and family who chose to give the gift of sight. 
"Simply put, we’re the team that helps each donated cornea find its way to someone waiting for the chance to see again,” Doreen said.
Each day, the team thoughtfully matches donated corneas with patients in need, beginning with communities Eversight serves locally as well as Korea. Once those needs are met, they collaborate with other U.S. eye banks and international partners to ensure that every possible gift is placed, honoring the intention behind each donation.
“My team is always looking at the whole picture,” she said. “‘What gifts have we been entrusted with this week, and how can we make sure they reach the people who need them most?’ Our goal is simple: make every transplant possible.”
To fulfill that promise, the team monitors weekly requests, coordinates tissue offers, and manages shipping and logistics—all while maintaining 24/7, year-round availability to respond to urgent situations and support sight-restoring surgeries around the world.
“Every donor and family hopes their gift will help someone,” Doreen said. “Our role is to honor that hope. Ensuring each cornea is placed isn’t just logistics—it’s fulfilling a wish, respecting a legacy and helping restore someone’s sight.”
Leadership in action: Building trust through experience
With Doreen’s experience in the call center and as a tissue distribution coordinator, she has the hindsight and knowledge to help her team succeed and build trust.
“My team knows that I have done the work they're doing and that I will still do the work they are doing,” she said. “I'm not asking them to do anything that I can't or won't do myself. They know that I understand the challenges that they face and the struggles that they might be going through.”
That trust and transparency has helped build a collaborative and empowered team.
“I have a great team of amazingly dedicated women,” Doreen said. “They want to be here. They want to make sure that we are honoring the gift in the best way possible, and they want to have fun while they're doing it. It is a delight to come to work every day, and they say the same thing about each other, and that's amazing.”
Doreen’s leadership, encouraging attitude and confidence in her team helps cultivate and fuel the type of environment where passions grow and employees thrive.
“I know it's not easy,” she said. “I cannot prepare them for every situation because I don't know every situation that's going to happen. I can prepare them the best that I can by giving them the tools that they need. But also knowing that they don't have to walk through it alone.”
Miracles in the mission
Doreen has helped tens of thousands of corneas find their homes—whether restoring sight through transplantation or supporting critical research that expands what’s possible—but direct donations leave a special mark.
“The one that happened this year in January—how seamlessly it fell into place,” Doreen recalled. “I'm a very faithful person and that was meant to happen.”
A direct donation occurs when a donor’s family requests the corneal tissue from their loved one go to a relative in need—a rare, delicate process requiring precise timing, surgeon availability, preoperative testing and more. When everything aligns, it’s extraordinary.
“That January case was incredible,” she said. “The surgeon involved only performs transplants once a month, but I called the surgical coordinator at eight o’clock Friday morning, and by early afternoon everything was in motion. The surgery was scheduled for Monday. Pre-op testing had been completed. The recipient had been seen by the surgeon that day. Everything just fell into place.”
Doreen shared that she received the news while attending a deeply emotional funeral and learning the direct donation had been secured brought an unexpected light to a difficult moment. But for her, the true beauty of that day was witnessing a rare direct donation come together—smoothly, quickly, against the odds—and knowing a family’s wish would be honored.
Join us in shaping what's next
As Doreen reflects on nearly two decades in eye banking, she’s energized by how much the field has evolved. When she began her career, newer transplant methods were just emerging. Today, those once-innovative approaches have become the standard, helping patients heal faster and see more clearly than ever before.
“It’s amazing how far we’ve come,” she said. “And it makes you wonder, what breakthroughs are coming next? The possibilities are endless.”
Doreen’s journey shows how one person’s commitment can help transform lives through sight. At Eversight, every team member plays a vital role in honoring the gift of donation and making these advancements possible.
If you’re inspired by stories like Doreen’s, explore our career opportunities or discover other ways to get involved. However you choose to support the mission, you can help change lives, one gift at a time.