[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 19 (Thursday, January 29, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4923-4924]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-01682]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Nominations to the Advisory Committee on Blood and Tissue Safety
and Availability
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Health, Department of Health and Human Services.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) is seeking
nominations of qualified individuals to be considered for appointment
as members of the Advisory Committee on Blood and Tissue Safety and
Availability (ACBTSA). ACBTSA is a Federal advisory committee within
the Department of Health and Human Services. Management support for the
activities of this Committee is the responsibility of the OASH. The
qualified individuals will be nominated to the Secretary of Health and
Human Services for consideration of appointment as members of the
ACBTSA. Members of the Committee, including the Chair, are appointed by
the Secretary. Members are invited to serve on the Committee for up to
four-year terms.
DATES: All nominations must be received no later than 4:00 p.m. EDT on
March 2, 2015, at the address listed below.
ADDRESSES: All nominations should be mailed or delivered to Mr. James
Berger, Senior Advisor for Blood and Tissue Policy; Office of Assistant
Secretary for Health; Department of Health and Human Services; 1101
Wootton Parkway, Suite 250; Rockville, MD 20852. Telephone: (240) 453-
8803; Fax (240) 453-8456; Email [email protected].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. James Berger, Senior Advisor for
Blood and Tissue Policy. Contact information for Mr. Berger is provided
above.
A copy of the Committee charter and roster of the current
membership can be obtained by contacting Mr. Berger or by accessing the
ACBTSA Web site at http://www.hhs.gov/bloodsafety. http://www.hhs.gov/bloodsafety.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The ACBTSA shall provide advice to the
Secretary through the Assistant Secretary for Health. The Committee
shall advise on a range of policy issues to include: (1) Identification
of public health issues through surveillance of blood and tissue safety
issues with national biovigilance data tools; (2) identification of
public health issues that affect availability of blood, blood products,
and tissues; (3) broad public health, ethical and legal issues related
to the safety of blood, blood products, and tissues; (4) the impact of
various economic factors (e.g., product cost and supply) on safety and
availability of blood, blood products, and tissues; (5) risk
communications related to blood transfusion and tissue transplantation;
and (6) identification of infectious disease transmission issues for
blood, organs, blood stem cells and tissues.
The Committee consists of 23 voting members. The Committee
composition includes 14 public members, including the Chair, and nine
(9) individuals designated to serve as official representative members.
The public members are selected from state and local organizations,
patient advocacy groups, provider organizations, academic researchers,
ethicists, physicians, surgeons, scientists, risk communication
experts, consumer advocates, and from among communities of persons who
are frequent recipients of blood or blood products or who have received
tissues or organs. The nine individuals who are appointed as official
representatives are
[[Page 4924]]
selected to serve the interests of the blood, blood products, tissue
and organ professional organizations or business sectors. The
representative members are selected from the following groups: The AABB
(formerly the American Association of Blood Banks); American
Association of Tissue Banks; Eye Bank Association of America;
Association of Organ Procurement Organizations; and one of either the
American National Red Cross or America's Blood Centers on a rotating
basis. The Committee composition can include additional representation
from either the plasma protein fraction community or a trade
organization; a manufacturer of blood, plasma, or other tissue/organ
test kits; a manufacturer of blood, plasma or other tissue/organ
equipment; a major hospital organization; or a major hospital
accreditation organization. Where more than one company produces a
specified product or process, representatives from those companies
shall rotate on the same schedule as public members.
All ACBTSA members are authorized to receive the prescribed per
diem allowance and reimbursement for travel expenses that are incurred
to attend meetings and conduct Committee-related business, in
accordance with Standard Government Travel Regulations. Individuals who
are appointed to serve as public members are authorized also to receive
a stipend for attending Committee meetings and to carry out other
Committee-related business. Individuals who are appointed to serve as
representative members for a particular interest group or industry are
not authorized to receive a stipend for the performance of these
duties.
This announcement is to solicit nominations of qualified candidates
to fill nine public member positions that are scheduled to be vacated
on the ACBTSA.
Nominations
In accordance with the charter, persons nominated for appointment
as members of the ACBTSA should be among authorities knowledgeable in
blood banking, tissue banking, transfusion medicine, organ or tissue
transplantation, plasma therapies, transfusion and transplantation
safety, bioethics, and/or related disciplines. Nominations should be
typewritten. The following information should be included in the
package of material submitted for each individual being nominated for
consideration of appointment: (a) The name, return address, daytime
telephone number and affiliation(s) of the individual being nominated,
the basis for the individual's nomination, the category for which the
individual is being nominated, and a statement bearing an original
signature of the nominated individual that, if appointed, he or she is
willing to serve as a member of the Committee; (b) the name, return
address, and daytime telephone number at which the nominator may be
contacted. Organizational nominators must identify a principal contact
person in addition to the contact; and (c) a copy of a current
curriculum vitae or resume for the nominated individual.
Individuals can nominate themselves for consideration of
appointment to the Committee. All nominations must include the required
information. Incomplete nominations will not be processed for
consideration. The letter from the nominator and certification of the
nominated individual must bear original signatures; reproduced copies
of these signatures are not acceptable.
The Department is legally required to ensure that the membership of
HHS Federal advisory committees is fairly balanced in terms of points
of view represented and the functions to be performed by the advisory
committee. Every effort is made to ensure that the views of women, all
ethnic and racial groups, and people with disabilities are represented
on HHS Federal Advisory committees and, therefore, the Department
encourages nominations of qualified candidates from these groups. The
Department also encourages geographic diversity in the composition of
the committee. Appointment to this Committee shall be made without
discrimination on the basis of age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual
orientation, disability, and cultural, religious, or socioeconomic
status.
The Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive
Branch are applicable to individuals who are appointed as public
members of Federal advisory committees. Individuals appointed to serve
as public members of Federal advisory committees are classified as
special government employees (SGEs). The federal conflict of interest
laws are applicable to SGEs. Therefore, individuals appointed to serve
as public members of the ACBTSA are subject to an ethics review. The
ethics review is conducted to determine if the individual has any
interests and/or activities in the private sector that may conflict
with performance of their official duties as a member of the Committee.
Individuals appointed to serve as public members of the committee will
be required to disclose information regarding financial holdings,
consultancies, and research grants and/or contracts.
Dated: January 22, 2015.
James J. Berger,
Senior Advisor for Blood and Tissue Policy.
[FR Doc. 2015-01682 Filed 1-28-15; 8:45 am]
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