Roles and Responsibilities

The Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP) uses expert guidance to support federal and non-federal coordination on blood and tissue safety and availability research, policy, and preparedness and response activities.

• Blood, Organ, and Tissue Senior Executive Council (BOTSEC): The BOTSEC is an advisory forum for senior leadership from HHS organizational components, as well as liaison representatives from the Department of Defense and Veterans Health Administration, that are involved in blood, organ, and tissue safety and availability. The HHS Assistant Secretary for Health serves as the Council Chair and the Senior Advisor for Blood and Tissue Policy in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) serves as the BOTSEC Executive Director. The BOTSEC tasks include coordinating policy and programmatic action and identifying and developing strategies for the research and public health community around blood and tissue safety threats. View the Council’s full duties, membership, and subcommittees.
• Advisory Committee on Blood and Tissue Safety and Availability (ACBTSA): The ACBTSA is a 31-member federal advisory committee that provides advice to the Secretary of Health and Human Services through the Assistant Secretary for Health on a range of policy issues related to blood, blood products, tissues, and organs.
• OASH Emergency Response Group: OIDP blood and tissue subject matter experts are part of the OASH Emergency Response Group, which provides a coordinated focal point for the safety and availability of the U.S. blood and tissue supply during preparedness exercises and activation of the federal emergency infrastructure.
• Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE): The PHEMCE coordinates federal efforts to enhance preparedness related to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats and emerging infectious diseases from a medical countermeasure perspective. The PHEMCE Enterprise Senior Council is led by the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and comprises senior leadership from three HHS agencies: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Food and Drug Administration, and National Institutes of Health, as well as several interagency partners: the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Department of Agriculture. The PHEMCE Enterprise Executive Committee is the operational-level decision and coordination body for all of its policy and product-level issues, and reports to the Enterprise Senior Council. An OIDP staff member serves on the PHEMCE Enterprise Executive Committee as the blood safety liaison.
• AABB Inter-organizational Task Force on Domestic Disasters and Acts of Terrorism: An OIDP blood safety liaison interacts with the private sector AABB Task Force, which includes representatives from major blood collection organizations, the American Hospital Association, and the Department of Defense. Using established standard operating procedures for disasters, the AABB Task Force and HHS coordinate data collection, logistic requirements, blood product(s) supply/movement, and emergency public messaging.
• The Healthcare and Public Health Sector Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Program: The CIP Program in the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response leads the Healthcare Sector Coordinating Council, a unique public-private partnership to protect essential goods, services, and functions of healthcare and public health that if destroyed or compromised would negatively affect the United States. Blood banks are deemed a critical infrastructure key resource. An OIDP staff member serves as the blood safety liaison to the CIP program.