K2 or K3 EDTA sample tube with coloured cap

This Prior Information Notice (PIN) is separate to any tender opportunity.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is a Special Health Authority, dedicated to saving and improving lives through the wide range of services we provide to the NHS. We are proud to provide a safe and reliable supply of blood components to hospitals in England and stem cells, tissues and solid organs to hospitals across the UK. Each year our donors give around 1.5m donations of blood and 3,500 organs, saving and transforming countless lives. The Authority also collect Plasma for Medicines (PFM) from blood and plasma donors. This is a new type of donation which helps saves the lives of around 17,000 people in England a year. Within the Blood Supply Directorate of NHSBT, the Testing function performs a wide range of testing services. These include the large-scale blood grouping and microbiological screening of blood, stem cell, and tissue donations. NHSBT has 3 testing sites throughout England at which just over 1.5 million blood, stem cell, and tissue donations are tested for a range of microbiology markers each year.
Donations for PFM, requires a dedicated K2 or K3 EDTA sample tube with a different coloured cap for identification purposes from the routine sample tubes collected. The routine samples tubes coloured caps already used within the Autority are red, yellow, lavender and pink. An Authority unique bar-code label is affixed to each tube at the donor’s bed over a pre-existing blank manufacturer’s label, and the samples are then transported to the Testing site.
Tube type: EDTA K2 or K3
Volume: 6ml
Pretreatment: Potassium EDTA at a concentration between 1.2 to 2 mg per mL

The purpose of this notice is to:
• Alert potential suppliers that NHSBT intends to award a contract for the supply of consumables
• Develop NHSBTs understanding of the capabilities, dependencies and competitiveness of the marketplace and the ability of industry to provide the required level of support.
Please express your interest by the 9th of August and direct any questions to tennille.madigan@nhsbt.nhs.uk