[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 96 (Wednesday, May 20, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23720-23721]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-11675]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


Nominations to 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: The Office of Public Health and Science (OPHS) is seeking 
nominations of qualified individuals to be considered for appointment 
as members of the Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability 
(ACBSA). ACBSA is a Federal advisory committee in the Department of 
Health and Human Services. Management support for the activities of 
this Committee is the responsibility of the OPHS.
    The qualified individuals will be nominated to the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services for consideration of appointment as members 
of the ACBSA. 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 p.m. EDT on 
June 30, 2009, at the address listed below.

ADDRESSES: All nominations should be mailed or delivered to Dr. Jerry 
Holmberg, 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. Telephone: (240) 453-8803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Jerry Holmberg, 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. Telephone: (240) 
453-8803.
    A copy of the Committee charter and roster of the current 
membership can be obtained by contacting Dr. Holmberg or by accessing 
the ACBSA Web site at http://www.hhs.gov/bloodsafety. http://www.hhs.gov/bloodsafety.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and 
Availability advises the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary for 
Health. The Committee provides advice on a range of policy issues to 
include: (1) Definition of public health parameters around safety and 
availability of the blood and blood products, (2) broad public health, 
ethical, and legal issues related to transfusion and transplantation 
safety, and (3) the implications for safety and availability of various 
economic factors affecting product cost and supply.
    The ACBSA consists of 20 voting members. The Committee is composed 
of 14 public members, including the Chair, and six (6) representative 
members. The public members are selected from State and local 
organizations, advocacy groups, provider organizations, academic 
researchers, ethicists, private physicians, scientists, consumer 
advocates, legal organizations, and from among communities of persons 
who are frequent recipients of blood or blood products. There are six 
(6) individuals designated to serve as official representative members 
of the blood and blood products industry or professional organizations. 
These representative members shall be from AABB (formerly the American 
Association of Blood Banks), Plasma Protein Therapeutic Association 
(PPTA), one of the two major distributors of blood on a rotating basis, 
a trade organization or manufacturer of blood, plasma, or other tissue 
test kits or equipment, and a major hospital organization that 
purchases blood and blood products.
    All ACBSA 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 positions on the ACBSA that are scheduled to be vacated in the 
public member category. The positions are scheduled to be vacated on 
March 1, 2010.

Nominations

    Persons nominated for appointment as members of the ACBSA should be 
among authorities knowledgeable in blood banking, transfusion medicine, 
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.

[[Page 23721]]

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 of Health and Human Services is committed to 
ensuring that women, minority groups, and physically challenged 
individuals are adequately represented on the Committee. Nominations of 
qualified candidates from these categories are encouraged. The 
Department also seeks to have geographic diversity reflected in the 
composition of the Committee.
    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). SGEs are Government employees for 
purposes of the conflict of interest laws. Therefore, individuals 
appointed to serve as public members of the ACBSA 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: May 14, 2009.
Jerry A. Holmberg,
Executive Secretary, Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and 
Availability.
[FR Doc. E9-11675 Filed 5-19-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-41-P