[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 22, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15982-15983]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-6701]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES


 Nominations to the Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and 
Availability

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

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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 Safety and Availability 
(ACBSA).

[[Page 15983]]

ACBSA 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 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 
April 22, 2011 at the address listed below.

ADDRESSES: All nominations should be mailed or delivered to Mr. James 
Berger, Associate Public Health Advisor for Blood, Organ and Tissue 
Safety; Office of Assistant Secretary for Health; Department of Health 
and Human Services; 1101 Wootton Parkway, Suite 250; Rockville, MD 
20852. Telephone: (240) 453-8803.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. James Berger, Associate Public 
Health Advisor for Blood, Organ and Tissue Safety. 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 
ACBSA Web site at http://www.hhs.gov/bloodsafety.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The ACBSA 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) Definition of 
public health parameters around safety and availability of the blood 
supply 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 Committee consists of 20 voting members; 14 public members, 
including the Chair, and six (6) individuals designated to serve as 
official 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. The six 
individuals who are appointed as official representative members are 
selected to serve the interests of the blood and blood products 
industry or professional organizations. The representative members are 
selected from the following groups: the AABB (formerly the American 
Association of Blood Banks); the plasma protein fraction community; one 
of the two major distributors of blood on a rotating basis, a trade 
organization or manufacturer of blood, plasma, infectious disease 
screening assays or other tissue test kits or equipment; and a major 
health care organization that purchases blood and blood products. 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 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 four currently vacant positions on the ACBSA. Two candidates 
will fill public member positions as special government employees. In 
addition, two candidates will be representative members as identified 
in the charter.

Nominations

    In accordance with the charter, 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. 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). 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: March 15, 2011.
James J. Berger,
Associate Public Health Advisor for Blood, Organ and Tissue Safety.
[FR Doc. 2011-6701 Filed 3-21-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-41-P