The Secretary may make grants to and enter into contracts with public and nonprofit private entities for projects to develop and expand, within existing facilities, blood-separation centers to separate and make available for distribution blood components to providers of blood services and manufacturers of blood fractions. For purposes of this section—

(1) the term “blood components” means those constituents of whole blood which are used for therapy and which are obtained by physical separation processes which result in licensed products such as red blood cells, platelets, white blood cells, AHF-rich plasma, fresh-frozen plasma, cryoprecipitate, and single unit plasma for infusion; and

(2) the term “blood fractions” means those constituents of plasma which are used for therapy and which are obtained by licensed fractionation processes presently used in manufacturing which result in licensed products such as normal serum albumin, plasma, protein fraction, prothrombin complex, fibrinogen, AHF concentrate, immune serum globulin, and hyperimmune globulins.

In the event the Secretary finds that there is an insufficient supply of blood fractions available to meet the needs for treatment of persons suffering from hemophilia, and that public and other nonprofit private centers already engaged in the production of blood fractions could alleviate such insufficiency with assistance under this subsection, he may make grants not to exceed $500,000 to such centers for the purposes of alleviating the insufficiency.

No grant or contract may be made under subsection (a) or (b) unless an application therefor has been submitted to and approved by the Secretary. Such an application shall be in such form, submitted in such manner, and contain such information as the Secretary shall by regulation prescribe.

Contracts may be entered into under subsection (a) without regard to section 3324(a) and (b) of title 31 and section 6101 of title 41.

For the purpose of making payments under grants and contracts under subsections (a) and (b), there are authorized to be appropriated $4,000,000 for fiscal year 1976, $5,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1977, $3,450,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1978, $2,500,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1979, $3,000,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1980, and $3,500,000 for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1981.

(July 1, 1944, ch. 373, title XI, § 1132, as added Pub. L. 94–63, title VI, § 606, July 29, 1975, 89 Stat. 351; amended Pub. L. 95–83, title III, § 306(c), Aug. 1, 1977, 91 Stat. 389; Pub. L. 95–626, title II, § 206(b), Nov. 10, 1978, 92 Stat. 3584.)