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Employee Blood Program - Join the City Donor Corps

Be a Lifesaver!

Donating blood is a good way to get a "mini-medical" exam -- your medical history gets reviewed, and your pulse, blood pressure, temperature, and hemoglobin are checked before you can donate blood. Anyone between the ages of 16 and 75* who is in good health can donate. There are no risks to giving blood. An average healthy person's body manufactures blood around the clock to meet its needs.

* 16-year-olds must have parental consent to donate blood, and people over 75 can donate blood with a doctor's note.

City Donor Corps

The Department of Citywide Administrative Services, in conjunction with the New York Blood Center, sponsors a Citywide Employee Blood Program called City Donor Corps. The Corps is made up of City employees from participating agencies, City-affiliated institutions, and public authorities who give blood regularly at least once a year. Some members voluntarily donate up to five times a year.

CDC Membership

City employees may join the New York City Donor Corps at any time. Once you make your first donation, you have the opportunity to be in the City Donor Corps Program. Each donation adds an extra year of membership. Whenever possible, bloodmobiles are scheduled on agency premises by the New York Blood Center for your convenience. If you are unable to donate blood, a relative or friend may donate as a substitute for you. That will make you eligible for City Donor Corps benefits. It is suggested that an enrollment card be completed and forwarded to your agency Blood Program Coordinator to ensure eligibility for City Donor Corps benefits.

CDC Membership Benefits

  • Hospital Bills for Blood or Blood Processing. In the greater New York region, coverage for blood processing fees is provided by Blue Cross, Medicare and most commercial health insurance contracts. This should eliminate hospital bills for blood received in this region. If you are billed for blood or blood processing fees, contact your agency’s blood program coordinator as soon as possible for help resolving the situation. The Corps will work with the hospital to have charges cancelled or redirected to the appropriate health insurance carrier if a member is billed in error. If the charges are deemed due and the patient has no other insurance to cover them, the program will pay the fees.
  • Out-of-Town Hospitals. Some hospitals still operate on a credit system and will bill you automatically for unreplaced blood. In some cases, a hospital will refrain from billing you if they are promptly notified of your blood program affiliation. Call or write to your agency’s Blood Program Coordinator to arrange for transmittal of this notification.

Autologous or Directed Donations

The City Donor Corps Program does not cover the cost of autologous or directed donations. An autologous donation is when a donor donates his/her blood to be stored for personal transfusion at a future date. A directed donation is when a donor selects the person to receive the blood donation.

Benefits for Family Members

City Donor Corps members are eligible for benefits for themselves and the following members of their families:

  1. spouse or domestic partner as defined in Section 1-112 (21) of the Administrative Code of the City of New York;
  2. effective July 1, 2011, dependent children to age 26 who are enrolled on the parent's City health plan; and
  3. parents and grandparents; spouse's or domestic partner's parents and grandparents.

Galloneers Club

When you have donated eight pints of blood through the City Donor Corps, you become eligible for membership in the Galloneers Club. Once a year, each agency presents lapel pins and certificates to those employees who have made their eighth donation at any point during the previous twelve-month period. Presentations are also made to recognize multi-gallon milestones.

Membership After Retirement

Your City Donor Corps membership and benefits do not stop when you retire if you have:

  1. given a total of eight pints of blood within the ten years prior to retirement; or
  2. donated a total of 16 pints of blood at any time during your City service; or
  3. continued to donate after retirement until you met either of the above requirements.

For More Information

Currently active employees can call your agency’s Blood Program Coordinator. Your human capital office can provide your Blood Program Coordinator's name, telephone number, and location.

If you are retired from City service, you can call the central office at 212-386-0554, or write to:

NYC Employee Blood Program
Department of Citywide Administrative Services
1 Centre Street
24th Floor

You can also call 311 and ask for the NYC Employee Blood Program. If you are calling from outside of NYC, call 212-NEW-YORK.