2010-6438. Advisory Council on Blood Stem Cell Transplantation; Notice of Meeting

In accordance with section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463), notice is hereby given of the following meeting:

Name: Advisory Council on Blood Stem Cell Transplantation.

Date and Times: May 5, 2010, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Place: Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center, 5701 Marinelli Road, Bethesda, Maryland 20852.

Status: The meeting will be open to the public.

Purpose: Pursuant to Public Law 109-129, 42 U.S.C. 274k (section 379 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended) the ACBSCT advises the Secretary of HHS and the Administrator, HRSA, on matters related to the activities of the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program (Program) and the National Cord Blood Inventory (NCBI) Program. ACBSCT is composed of up to 25 members, including the Chair, serving as Special Government Employees. The current membership includes representatives of marrow donor centers and marrow transplant centers; representatives of cord blood banks and participating birthing hospitals; recipients of a bone marrow transplant; recipients of a cord blood transplant; persons who require such transplants; family members of such a recipient or family members of a patient who has requested the assistance of the Program in searching for an unrelated donor of bone marrow or cord blood; persons with expertise in bone marrow and cord blood transplantation; persons with expertise in typing, matching, and transplant outcome data analysis; persons with expertise in the social sciences; basic scientists with expertise in the biology of adult stem cells; ethicists; hematology and transfusion medicine researchers with expertise in adult blood stem cells; persons with expertise in cord blood processing; and members of the general public.

Agenda

The Council will hear reports from three ACBSCT Work Groups: Access to Transplantation, Cord Blood Collections, and Scientific Factors Necessary To Define a Cord Blood Unit as High Quality. The Council also will hear presentations and discussions on the following topics: Performance measures and targets for programs, FDA final guidance for cord blood licensure, models predicting the impact of growth of the cord blood inventory and the adult donor registry, realizing the full potential of cord blood, financial incentives for adult donors, and the capacity of the national system to handle a larger number of transplants. Agenda items are subject to change as priorities indicate.

After the presentations and Council discussions, members of the public will have an opportunity to provide comments. Because of the Council's full agenda and the timeframe in which to cover the agenda topics, public comment will be limited. All public comments will be included in the record of the ACBSCT meeting. Meeting summary notes will be made available on the HRSA's Program Web site at http://bloodcell.transplant.hrsa.gov/​ABOUT/​Advisory_​Council/​index.html.

The draft meeting agenda and a registration form are available on the HRSA's Program Web site at http://bloodcell.transplant.hrsa.gov/​ABOUT/​Advisory_​Council/​index.html.

Registration can also be completed electronically at http://www.ACBSCT.com or submitted by facsimile to Lux Consulting Group, Inc., the logistical support contractor for the meeting, at fax number [phone], ATTN: Tristan Alexander. Individuals without access to the Internet who wish to register may call Tristan Alexander at [phone].

For Further Information Contact: Remy Aronoff, Executive Secretary, Healthcare Systems Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Room 12-105, Rockville, Maryland 20857; telephone [phone].

Dated: March 16, 2010.

Sahira Rafiullah,

Director, Division of Policy and Information Coordination.