05-7160. Notice of Meeting of the Advisory Committee on Organ Transplantation

AGENCY:

Health Resources and Services Administration, HHS.

SUMMARY:

Pursuant to Pub. L. 92-463, the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. Appendix 2), notice is hereby given of the eighth meeting of the Advisory Committee on Organ Transplantation (ACOT), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The meeting will be held from approximately 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on May 9, 2005, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 10, 2005, at the Rockville DoubleTree Hotel, 1750 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. The meeting will be open to the public; however, seating is limited and pre-registration is encouraged (see below).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the authority of 42 U.S.C. Section 217a, Section 222 of the Public Health Service Act, as amended, and 42 CFR 121.12 (2000), ACOT was established to assist the Secretary in enhancing organ donation, ensuring that the system of organ transplantation is grounded in the best available medical science, and assuring the public that the system is as effective and equitable as possible, and, thereby, increasing public confidence in the integrity and effectiveness of the transplantation system. ACOT is composed of up to 25 members, including the Chair. Members are serving as Special Government Employees and have diverse backgrounds in fields such 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.

ACOT will hear presentations from staff of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on the CMS Organ Procurement Organization Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and the Transplant Center Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. The presentations may include a discussion and summary of the comments received during the 60-day public comment period which began February 4.

The draft meeting agenda will be available on April 15 on the Department's donation Web site at http://www.organdonor.gov/​acot.html.

A registration form will be available on March 15 on the Department's donation Web site at http://www.organdonor.gov/​acot.html. The completed registration form should be submitted by facsimile to Professional and Scientific Associates (PSA), the logistical support contractor for the meeting, at fax number [phone]. Individuals without access to the Internet who wish to register may call Bryan Slattery with PSA at [phone]. Individuals who plan to attend the meeting and need special assistance, such as sign language interpretation or other reasonable accommodations, should notify the ACOT Executive Director, Thomas E. Balbier, Jr., in advance of the meeting. Mr. Balbier may be reached by telephone at 301-443-1896, e-mail: [e-mail], or in writing at the address of the Division of Transplantation provided below. Management and support services for ACOT functions are provided by the Division of Transplantation, Healthcare Systems Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Parklawn Building, Room 12C-06, Rockville, Maryland 20857; telephone number 301-443-7577.

After the presentations from CMS and ACOT discussions, members of the public will have an opportunity to provide comments. Because of the Committee'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 ACOT meeting.

Dated: April 5, 2005.

Elizabeth M. Duke,

Administrator.