Johns Hopkins All Children’s Cancer & Blood Disorders Institute Director Cassandra Josephson, M.D., was appointed to a three-year-term as a member of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Advisory Committee on Blood and Tissue Safety and Availability (ACBTSA).

The committee advises and makes recommendations to the HHS Secretary and the Assistant Secretary for Health on safety issues related to the use of blood, blood products, organs and tissues in transfusion medicine and transplantation.

Josephson is one of 14 public appointees to the committee, whose members are experts from academic medical centers, blood and tissue banks, and research organizations. She was sworn into service at the committee’s July 6 meeting in Washington, D.C.

An internationally respected expert in pediatric transfusion medicine, Josephson contributes to advancements in patient care, clinical knowledge, medical education and clinical/translational research. Her service on the HHS advisory committee is another opportunity to continue to advocate for safety in transfusion medicine.

“This committee’s work is incredibly important to the American people as we bring our collective blood banking, tissue, and organ transplantation expertise to the table to aid the president, Congress, and the nation to improve not only safety, but help assure availability of these vital national resources,” Josephson reflects. “I’m proud and honored to bring my pediatric transfusion and tissue banking expertise to the ACBTSA.”

Josephson joined Johns Hopkins All Children’s in July 2022 as a professor (PAR) in Oncology in the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.