[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 192 (Wednesday, October 3, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50441-50442]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-24638]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Health Resources and Services Administration
Amendment to the Charter of the Advisory Committee on Organ
Transplantation
AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), HHS.
ACTION: Notice of amendment to the Charter of the Advisory Committee on
Organ Transplantation.
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SUMMARY: The Acting Administrator, HRSA, announces an amendment to the
Charter of the Advisory Committee on Organ Transplantation (ACOT) to
expand the scope of its responsibilities and increase the size of its
membership. In addition to its current responsibilities, the Committee
has been charged with advising the Secretary on ways to improve Federal
and other efforts to increase organ donation nationally. The number of
allowable Committee members has been increased from 20 to 41. Further,
it has been specified that the term of service of the Committee
Chairperson shall be 1 year; new member terms have been restricted to
2, 3 and 4 years; management and support services have been transferred
to the Office of SpecialPrograms, HRSA; and meeting frequency has been
specified as approximately 3 times per year. Revised annual cost
estimates have been provided.
ADDRESSES: Questions concerning this action may be addressed to Jack
Kress, Executive Director, Advisory Committee on Organ Transplantation,
Office of Special Programs, Health Resources and Services
Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 7-100, Rockville, MD 20857. A
request for a copy of the Charter, as amended, for the Advisory
Committee on Organ Transplantation should be submitted to Miguel Kamat,
M.D., M.P.H., Division of Transplantation, Health Resources and
Services Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 7C-22, Rockville, MD
20857, or may be viewed on the Division's Web site at www.hrsa.gov/osp/
dot.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT: Jack Kress, (301) 443-8653.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
On September 28, 2000, HRSA published a Federal Register Notice
regarding establishment of the ACOT pursuant to 42 CFR 121.12 and
Public Law 92-463, the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5
U.S.C. Appendix 2) (65 FR 58279). The unamended Charter included
sections on the purpose, authority, function, structure, meetings,
compensation, annual cost estimates, reports and termination dates of
the Committee. The expanded scope of responsibilities and increased
membership of the ACOT will ensure that the Secretary will receive
advice on all aspects of organ donation, procurement, allocation, and
transplantation. The Amendment specifies that, as one of its principal
functions, the Committee shall advise the Secretary on ways to maximize
Federal efforts to increase living and cadaveric organ donation
nationally. The additional members will provide expert input to the
deliberations of the ACOT when it considers questions on organ
donation, including issues on living donation. The Committee will
advise the Secretary through the Administrator, HRSA, on all the above
issues, as well as on other matters that the Secretary may seek
recommendation.
The Charter, as amended, is reprinted below.
Advisory Committee on Organ Transplantation Charter, as Amended
Purpose
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has a vital role
in safeguarding and promoting public health by overseeing the
development of an equitable and effective organ donation, procurement,
allocation, and transplantation system in the United States. The
recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Organ Transplantation will
facilitate HHS efforts to oversee the Organ Procurement and
Transplantation Network (OPTN), as envisioned in the National Organ
Transplant Act of 1984, as amended.
Authority
42 U.S.C. 217a; Sec. 222 of the PHS Act, as amended; 42 CFR 121.12
(64 FR 56661). The Committee is governed by the provisions of Public
Law 92-463, as amended (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2), which sets forth
standards for the formation and use of advisory committees.
Function
The Committee shall advise the Secretary, acting through the
Administrator, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), on
all aspects of organ donation, procurement, allocation, and
transplantation, and on such other matters that the Secretary
determines. One of its principal functions shall be to advise the
Secretary on ways to maximize Federal efforts to increase living and
cadaveric organ donation nationally.
The Committee shall, at the request of the Secretary, review
significant proposed OPTN policies submitted for Secretarial approval
to recommend whether they should be made enforceable. It shall provide
expert input to the Secretary on the latest advances in the science of
transplantation, the OPTN's system of collecting, disseminating and
ensuring the validity, accuracy, timeliness and usefulness of data, and
additional medical, public health, ethical, legal, financial coverage,
and socioeconomic issues that are relevant to transplantation.
Structure
The Committee shall consist of up to 41 members, including the
Chair. Members and Chair shall be selected by the Secretary from
individuals knowledgeable in such fields as organ donation, health care
public policy, transplantation medicine and surgery, critical care
medicine and other medical specialties involved in the identification
and referral of donors, non-physician transplant professions, nursing,
epidemiology, immunology, law and bioethics, behavioral sciences,
economics and statistics, as well as representatives of transplant
candidates, transplant recipients, organ donors, and family members. To
the extent practicable, Committee members should represent the
minority, gender and geographic diversity of transplant candidates,
transplant recipients, organ donors and family members served by the
OPTN. The Secretary may appoint non-voting Ex-Officio members, or
designees of such officials, as the
[[Page 50442]]
Secretary deems necessary for the Committee to effectively carry out
its function.
As necessary, standing and ad hoc subcommittees, composed of
members of the parent committee, may be established to perform specific
functions within the Committee's jurisdiction. The Department Committee
Management Officer shall be notified upon establishment of each
subcommittee, and shall be provided information on its name,
membership, function, and estimated frequency of meetings.
Members shall be invited to serve for overlapping 4-year terms,
except that initially the Secretary shall appoint a portion of the
members to terms of 2 years, and 3 years. Terms past the termination
date of the Committee are contingent upon renewal of the Committee by
appropriate action prior to this date. Members may serve after the
expiration of their terms until their successors have taken office. The
Secretary shall appoint a Chair from among the Committee members to
serve for a term of 1 year, and may invite the Chair to serve
additional term(s).
A vacancy on the Advisory Committee shall be filled in the manner
in which the original appointment was made and shall be subjected to
any conditions that applied with respect to the original appointment.
An individual chosen to fill a vacancy shall be appointed for the
remainder of the term of the member replaced. The vacancy shall not
affect the power of the remaining members to execute the duties of the
Committee.
Management and support services shall be provided by the Office of
Special Programs, Health Resources and Services Administration.
Meetings
Meetings shall be held approximately 3 times per year at the call
of the Chair with the advance approval of a Government official, who
shall also approve the agenda. A Government official shall be present
at all meetings.
A majority of the Committee shall constitute a quorum.
Meetings shall be open to the public except as determined otherwise
by the Secretary or other officials to whom the authority has been
delegated. Notice of all meetings shall be provided to the public.
Meetings shall be conducted, and records of the proceedings kept,
as required by applicable laws and Departmental regulations.
Compensation
Members shall be paid at a rate not to exceed the daily equivalent
of the rate in effect for Executive Level IV of the Executive Schedule,
for each day they are engaged in the performance of their duties as
members of the Committee. Members shall receive per diem and travel
expenses as authorized by 5 U.S.C. 5703, Title 5 U.S.C., as amended,
for persons employed intermittently in the Government service. Members
who are officers or employees of the United States shall not receive
compensation for service on the Committee.
Annual Cost Estimate
Estimated annual cost for operating the Committee, including
compensation and travel expenses for members but excluding staff
support, is $281,144. Estimated annual person-years of staff support
required is 2.45, at an estimated annual cost of $218,425.
Reports
In the event a portion of a meeting is closed to the public, a
report shall be prepared that shall contain, at a minimum, a list of
members and their business addresses, the Committee's function, dates
and places of meetings, and a summary of Committee activities and
recommendations made during the fiscal year. A copy of the report shall
be provided to the Department Committee Management Officer.
Termination Date
Unless renewed by appropriate action prior to its expiration, the
Advisory Committee on Organ Transplantation shall terminate two years
from the date this charter is approved.
Dated: September 27, 2001.
Elizabeth M. Duke,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 01-24638 Filed 10-2-01; 8:45 am]
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