Specialized Blood Products-AABB

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), Clinical Center (CC), Office of Purchasing and Contracts, on behalf of the Department of Transfusion Medicine (DTM), Transfusion Services Laboratory (TSL), intends to award a sole-source Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract to the National Blood Exchange (NBE), Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB) for the provision of specialized blood products, including rare blood types, required to support patient care within the NIH Clinical Center.

The NIH Clinical Center is a 200-bed research hospital that provides care to patients participating in NIH research protocols. The Department of Transfusion Medicine requires specialized blood products for patients requiring transfusion therapy, including rare red blood cells (RBCs), platelets, and plasma products.

The contractor shall be capable of providing specialized blood products, including leukoreduced red blood cells, AB plasma, cryoprecipitate, and single-donor platelets. The requirement includes rare, multiple-antigen-negative RBC products for sickle cell disease and other multiply transfused patients. Required blood products must be prepared in accordance with applicable Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies (AABB), College of American Pathologists (CAP), Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA), and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements and must be screened and certified for human use.

The contractor must also be capable of providing antigen-screened units for common and uncommon RBC antigens, including, but not limited to, C, E, K, k, Fy(a), Fy(b), S, s, Jk(a), Jk(b), V/VS, Go(a), Js(a), and U. The anticipated annual requirement includes approximately 300–400 antigen-negative leukoreduced red blood cells, 50–100 units of Fresh Frozen AB plasma, and 100–200 units of single-donor platelets, including HLA-typed platelets. The contractor must provide 24/7 accessibility, electronic ordering and tracking capabilities, and the ability to search for and distribute blood products from multiple blood centers throughout the United States.

The Government intends to award this requirement on a sole-source basis because market research indicates that NBE is the only known organization capable of satisfying the Government's specialized requirements. NBE utilizes a nationwide network of FDA-licensed blood facilities with surplus blood components and provides access to a nationwide resource-sharing network. Through its affiliation with blood centers throughout the United States, NBE is uniquely positioned to locate and obtain rare blood products and respond to regional blood shortages and specialized patient requirements.

The NIH Clinical Center is largely self-sufficient in maintaining its routine blood inventory; therefore, the Government does not require routine inventory from an outside blood supplier. NBE is utilized when rare blood products are required or when the available donor supply is insufficient, including circumstances involving Rh-negative donors and patients requiring rare antigen-negative products. The Government's market research identified no other known vendor with the capability to meet the complete requirement.

The anticipated contract will be an IDIQ contract with a 12-month base period. Individual requirements will be ordered and funded through orders issued under the contract.

This notice is not a request for competitive proposals or quotations. However, all responsible sources that believe they can satisfy the Government's requirements may submit a capability statement demonstrating their ability to provide the required specialized blood products.

Any capability statement must provide sufficient information demonstrating the respondent's ability to provide the full scope of the requirement, including access to multiple donor centers throughout the United States; rare and multiple-antigen-negative RBC products; HLA-typed single-donor platelets; FDA-licensed blood products; 24/7 customer support; electronic ordering and tracking capabilities; and the ability to locate and distribute specialized blood products from multiple blood centers nationwide.

Information received in response to this notice will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether conducting a competitive procurement is in the best interest of the Government. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed acquisition based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.

Interested parties shall submit their capability statements electronically to shasheshe.goolsby@nih.gov by September 20, 2026 at 09:00AM and must reference POTS 26-008618. Responses should include the company's legal business name, Unique Entity ID (UEI), CAGE Code, business size under NAICS 621991, point of contact information, and sufficient technical documentation demonstrating the firm's ability to meet the complete requirement.

No telephone inquiries will be accepted.