[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]
BILLING CODE 4150-41-P