HHS Advisory groups on Blood Stem Cell, Organ Transplantation to meet

Transplant News,  April, 2008  

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Two important Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) transplant groups established to advise Secretary Michael Leavitt (ch?) will meet at the end of April and early May in Rockville, MD.

The Advisory Council on Blood Stem Cell Transplantation (ACBSCT) will meet on Monday, April 28 and Tuesday, April 29, 2008, at the Hilton Washington, DC/Rockville Executive Meeting Center in Rockville, MD. The meeting is open to the public; however seating is limited and pre-registration is encouraged.

The council, which is composed of up to 25 to experts in the field, has a charge of advising the HHS secretary and administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) on matters relating to the activities of the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program and the National Cord Blood Inventory (NCBI) Program.

The council will hear reports from five of the ACBSCT Work Groups: Cord Blood Accreditation Organization and Recognition Process; Need for Public Funding for Required Data Documentation; Process for Access of Cord Blood Units for Research; Scientific Factors Necessary to Define a Cord Blood Unit as High Quality; and Program Confidentiality/Policies for Cord Blood Donors. After the presentations and council discussions, members of the public will have an opportunity to provide comments.

The draft meeting agenda will be available on April 1 on the HRSA's Program Web site: http://bloodcell.transplant.hrsa.gov/ABOUT/Advisory--Council/index.html.

The completed registration form should be submitted by fax to Professional and Scientific Associates (PSA)(703) 234-1701. Registration can also be completed online at https://www.team-psa.com/dot/2008/abcbsct/. For additional help registering contact Amanda Madeline with PSA at (703) 234-1244.

Individuals who plan to attend the meeting and need special assistance, such as sign language interpretation or other reasonable accommodations should notify ACBSCT Executive Secretary Remy Aronoff, in advance of the meeting: telephone - (301) 443-3264; e-mail: Remy.Aronoff@hrsa.hhs.gov.

Meeting summary notes will be made available on the HRSA Program Web site listed above.

The meeting will be held from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on April 28 and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on April 29 at the Hilton Washington DC/Rockville Executive Meeting Center, 1750 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852

The Secretary's Advisory Committee on Organ Transplantation (ACOT) will meet on Monday, May 5 and Tuesday, May 6, 2008, at the Hilton Washington, DC/Rockville Executive Meeting Center in Rockville, MD. The meeting is open to the public but seating is limited and pre-registration is encouraged.

The committee, which is composed of up to 25 members, was established to assist the secretary in enhancing organ donation, ensuring that the system of organ transplantation is grounded in the best medical science, and assuring the public that the system is as effective and equitable as possible, thereby, increasing public confidence in the integrity and effectiveness of the transplant system.

The committee will hear presentations on the "Kidney Disease Outcome Quality Initiative/Early Kidney Transplantation Conference" held on March 19-20, 2007; adolescent/medication nonadherence/transitioning from pediatric-adolescent care to adult care; revised informed consent recommendation; recovery/allocation/transplantation practices outside the US; and a final report on the economics of transplantation.

The four work groups will also update the full Committee on their deliberations on informed consent, sources of funding for additional data collection, reducing pediatric deaths on the waitlist, and xenotransplantation.

The draft meeting agenda will be available April 21 on the following Web site: http://www.organdonor.gov/acot.html.

A registration form will be available on the same Web site on April 7. The completed form should be faxed to PSA at (703) 234-1701. Registration can be submitted electronically at http://www.psava.com/dot/acot2008/.

Individuals who plan to attend the meeting and need special assistance, such as sign language interpretation or other reasonable accommodations, should contact ACOT Executive Secretary Gregory Fant, PhD, in advance of the meeting. He can be reached by phone at (301) 443-8728, or by e-mail at: Gregory.Fant@hrsa.hhs.gov.

The Hilton Washington, DC/Rockville Executive Meeting Center is located at 1750 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852.

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