[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 35 (Thursday, February 21, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12062-12063]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-04036]


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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) is 
seeking nominations of qualified individuals to be considered for 
appointment to the Advisory Committee on Blood and Tissue Safety and 
Availability (ACBTSA). The 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 not later than 4:00 p.m. EDT on 
March 15, 2013, at the address listed below.

ADDRESSES: All nominations should be mailed or delivered to Mr. James 
Berger, Senior Advisor for Blood Policy; Division of Blood and Tissue 
Safety and Availability, Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease 
Policy, Office of the 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, Senior Advisor for 
Blood 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 provides advice to the Secretary, 
through the Assistant Secretary for Health. The Committee provides 
advice 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 effect 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: there are 14 public 
members, including the Chair, and nine (9) individuals designated to 
serve as official representative members of the blood, blood products, 
tissue and organ professional organizations or business sectors. 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, legal organizations, and from among 
communities of persons who are frequent recipients of blood or blood 
products or who have received tissues or organs.
    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 two positions in the public member category that will be 
vacated during the 2013 calendar year.

Nominations

    In accordance with the charter, persons nominated for appointment 
as members of the ACBTSA should be among authorities knowledgeable in 
blood banking, transfusion medicine, plasma therapies, transfusion and 
transplantation safety, bioethics, public health economics and/or 
related disciplines and/or related consumer/patient advocacy. 
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 
nominated individual's area of expertise, 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 makes every effort to ensure that the membership of 
HHS federal advisory committees is fairly

[[Page 12063]]

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. 
Therefore, the Department encourages nominations of qualified 
candidates from these groups. The Department also takes into 
consideration 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.
    Individuals who are appointed as public members of federal advisory 
committees are classified as special government employees (SGEs). SGEs 
who are appointed to serve as members of federal advisory committees 
are subject to the ethical standards of conduct for federal employees. 
Upon entering the position and annually throughout the term of 
appointment, the public members appointed to the ACBTSA will be 
required to complete and submit a report of their financial holdings, 
including information about consultancies and research grants or 
contracts, so that an ethics analysis can be conducted to ensure that 
members are not involved in activities in the private sector that may 
pose potential conflicts of interest for performance of their official 
duties for the Committee.

    Dated: February 15, 2013.
James J. Berger,
Senior Advisor for Blood Policy.
[FR Doc. 2013-04036 Filed 2-20-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4150-41-P