[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]
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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.
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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 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