FDA/CDC/NIH blood safety efforts will be coordinated by PHS committee -- Shalala says.
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
Executive Summary
PHS BLOOD SAFETY COMMITTEE COMPRISING HEADS OF FDA, NIH AND CDC will be formed to report to the HHS assistant secretary of health, HHS told the House Government Reform/Human Resources Subcommittee on Oct. 12. The Blood Safety Committee is being formed to assure that the issue of the safety of the blood supply gets attention "at the highest level" of HHS, Secretary Donna Shalala told Subcommittee Chairman Christopher Shays (R-Conn.). The HHS assistant secretary for health will serve as the department's blood safety director. Providing input to the safety committee will be the Advisory Council on Blood Safety and Availability, a new group that will include industry and consumer representatives, scientific experts and ethicists.