[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 83 (Monday, May 2, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Page 22661]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-8669]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


Meeting of the Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and 
Availability

AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the 
Secretary.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: As stipulated by the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the 
Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is hereby giving notice 
that the Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability (ACBSA) 
will hold a meeting. This meeting is open to the public.

DATES: The meeting will be held on Monday, May 16, 2005 and Tuesday, 
May 17, 2005 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Bethesda North Marriott 
Hotel and Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, North Bethesda, 
Maryland 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jerry A. Holmberg, Ph.D., Executive 
Secretary, Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability, Office 
of Public Health and Science, Department of Health and Human Services, 
1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 250, Rockville, MD 20852, (301) 443-2331, 
fax (301) 443-4788, e-mail [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DHHS is responsible for carrying out 
research in health fields including diseases involving blood and blood 
products, and for issuing and enforcing regulations concerning the 
collection, preparation, and distribution of blood and blood products, 
and regulations related to the transmission of communicable diseases. 
The ACBSA advises, assists, consults with, and makes policy 
recommendations to the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary for Health 
regarding these broad responsibilities.
    The Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability will meet 
to review progress and solicit additional comments from the Committee 
regarding numerous recommendations made over the past year. 
Specifically, the Committee will hear updates and discuss previous 
recommendations on potential studies to standardize, validate, and 
determine the predictive value of bacterial testing with the intent to 
extend the dating of platelet products from five to seven days and the 
possible pre-storage pooling of whole blood derived platelets. In 
addition, the Committee will be asked to discuss/comment on strategies 
for addressing infectious agents (known or emerging) that potentially 
could affect the blood supply.
    Public attendance at the meeting is limited to space available. 
Individuals who plan to attend and need special assistance, such as 
sign language interpretation or other reasonable accommodations, should 
notify the designated contact person.
    Members of the public will have the opportunity to provide comments 
at the meeting. Public comments will be limited to five minutes per 
speaker. Anyone planning to comment is encouraged to contact the 
Executive Secretary at his/her earliest convenience. Individuals who 
wish to have material distributed to the Committee for review and 
discussion are asked to provide at a minimum 30 copies for this 
purpose. If the requested amount of copies cannot be provided, a copy 
of the document should be provided to the Executive Secretary for 
duplication purposes no later than May 11, 2005.

    Dated: April 26, 2005.
Jerry A. Holmberg,
Executive Secretary, Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and 
Availability.
[FR Doc. 05-8669 Filed 4-29-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-41-P