Medicinal (medical therapeutic) products derived from human donations of blood and plasma, including whole blood and other blood components for transfusion, and plasma-derived medicinal products (PDMPs) play a critical role in health care and are fundamental for achieving universal health coverage. Safe, effective, and quality-assured blood products contribute to improving and saving millions of lives every year. To ensure access to safe, effective, and quality-assured blood products, a functioning national blood system is required. A robust national and regional blood service and blood regulator, with effective hemovigilance and pharmacovigilance systems for monitoring the safety of blood donations and blood product use, is also key to building and strengthening national and regional capacities to respond to emerging infectious threats.
However, progress in blood regulation and availability has been slow in many parts of the world. A major imbalance exists between higher-income and lower-income countries in access to safe, effective, and quality-assured blood products. For that reason, the WHO Action framework to advance universal access to safe, effective, and quality-assured blood products 2020–2023 was developed. The framework, which draws on the programs on the quality of blood products and blood transfusion safety in WHO Departments and WHO partners’ global efforts to address present barriers to the safety and availability of blood products, aims to provide a unified global strategic direction to ensure access to safe blood products worldwide.
To this effect, the Advisory Group on Blood Regulation, Availability, and Safety was formulated in 2020 to strengthen technical advisory functions to the WHO blood products program and to scale up the implementation of WHO policies and strategies to strengthen blood systems and advance universal access to safe, effective and quality-assured blood products in the world. The role of this Advisory Group is to advise and support WHO at all levels on regulation and technical aspects of the blood system, deliver the WHO mission, and assist Member States in establishing and/or strengthening their blood system at a national level or through regional cooperation as appropriate.
Functions of the Advisory Group on Blood Regulation, Availability and Safety
The Advisory Group on Blood Regulation, Availability, and Safety (“AG-BRAS”) will act as an advisory body to WHO in this field.
In its capacity as an advisory body to WHO, the AG BRAS shall have the following functions:
- To provide advice and contribute to the development of WHO norms, standards, technical guidelines, and high-level strategic recommendations on ensuring the safety, quality, and availability of blood products and promoting their appropriate use and equitable access.
- To advise on scaling up implementation of the existing WHO policies, and strategies, including advising on innovative strategies and tailored approaches, in strengthening the national systems for blood supply and regulation to achieve the goal of universal access to safe, effective, and quality-assured blood products
- To provide scientific assessment of current and emerging threats to the safety and availability of blood and blood products; provide advice to WHO on the recommended measures and actions to be taken by the Member States in preparedness for and in response to the emerging public health threats.
Operations of the Advisory Group on Blood Regulation, Availability and Safety
The Advisory Group on Blood Regulation, Availability, and Safety will be expected to meet annually at least once each year. However, WHO may convene additional meetings. AG BRAS meetings may be held in person (at WHO headquarters in Geneva or another location, as determined by WHO) or virtually, via video or teleconference. The working language of the group will be English.
Who can express interest?
The Advisory Group on Blood Regulation, Availability, and Safety will be multidisciplinary, with members who have a range of technical knowledge, skills and experience relevant to the broad range of disciplines relevant to blood regulation and blood transfusion medicines. 3 (three) members may be selected to replace the members who left the AG BRAS last year.
WHO welcomes expressions of interest from:
- Scientists, healthcare professionals, educators, and healthcare regulators with expertise in the following areas:
- Blood regulatory framework, including regulation to oversight quality and safety of blood products, medical devices, and IVDs that are used for the provision and transfusion of blood products.
- Blood transfusion Medicine, which covers blood donor recruitment and retention, blood donor selection, blood donation testing, processing, storage and distribution, prescribing and pre-transfusion testing; evidence-based transfusion medicine, including patient blood management.
- Hemovigilance system, pharmacovigilance for PDMPs or other surveillance and vigilance programs for patient and blood donor safety; surveillance and response to emerging and re-emerging blood safety threats.
- Access to safe and quality-assured blood products, especially for in low and middle-income countries and disadvantaged population/patient groups.
Submitting your expression of interest
To register your interest in being considered for the Advisory Group on Blood Regulation, Availability, and Safety the broad range of disciplines relevant to blood regulation and blood transfusion medicines, please submit the following documents by 14 April 2024 at 24:00h (midnight) Geneva time to maryuningsihy@who.int to using the subject line “Expression of interest for the Advisory Group on Blood Regulation, Availability, and Safety:
- A cover letter, indicating your motivation to apply and how you satisfy the selection criteria. Please note that, if selected, membership will be in a personal capacity. Therefore, do not use the letterhead or other identification of your employer);
- Your curriculum vitae; and
- A signed and completed Declaration of Interests (DOI) form for WHO Experts, available at https://www.who.int/about/ethics/declarations-of-interest.
After submission, your expression of interest will be reviewed by WHO. Due to an expected high volume of interest, only selected individuals will be informed.
Important information about the selection processes and conditions of appointment
Members of WHO advisory groups (AGs) must be free of any real, potential, or apparent conflicts of interest. To this end, applicants are required to complete the WHO Declaration of Interests for WHO Experts, and the selection as a member of an AG is, amongst other things, dependent on WHO determining that there is no conflict of interest or that any identified conflicts could be appropriately managed (in addition to WHO’s evaluation of an applicant’s experience, expertise and motivation and other criteria).
All AG members will serve in their individual expert capacity and shall not represent any governments, any commercial industries or entities, any research, academic, or civil society organizations, or any other bodies, entities, institutions, or organizations. They are expected to fully comply with the Code of Conduct for WHO Experts (https://www.who.int/about/ethics/declarations-of-interest). AG members will be expected to sign and return a completed confidentiality undertaking before the beginning of the first meeting.
At any point during the selection process, telephone interviews may be scheduled between an applicant and the WHO Secretariat to enable the WHO to ask questions relating to the applicant’s experience and expertise and/or to assess whether the applicant meets the criteria for membership in the relevant AG.
The selection of members of the AGs will be made by WHO in its sole discretion, taking into account the following (non-exclusive) criteria: relevant technical expertise; experience in international and country policy work; communication skills; and ability to work constructively with people from different cultural backgrounds and orientations. The selection of AG members will also take account of the need for diverse perspectives from different regions, especially from low and middle-income countries, and for gender balance.
If selected by WHO, proposed members will be sent an invitation letter and a Memorandum of Agreement. Appointment as a member of an AG will be subject to the proposed member returning to WHO the countersigned copy of these two documents.
WHO reserves the right to accept or reject any expression of interest, to annul the open call process, and to reject all expressions of interest at any time without incurring any liability to the affected applicant or applicants and without any obligation to inform the affected applicant or applicants of the grounds for WHO's action. WHO may also decide, at any time, not to proceed with the establishment of the AG, disband an existing AG, or modify the work of the AG.
WHO shall not in any way be obliged to reveal, or discuss with any applicant, how an expression of interest was assessed, to provide any other information relating to the evaluation/selection process, or to state the reasons for not choosing a member.
WHO may publish the names and a short biography of the selected individuals on the WHO internet.
AG members will not be remunerated for their services in relation to the AG or otherwise. Travel and accommodation expenses of AG members to participate in AG meetings will be covered by WHO under its applicable policies, rules, and procedures.
The appointment will be limited in time as indicated in the letter of appointment.
If you have any questions about this “Call for experts”, please write to moknii@who.int well before the applicable deadline.