Supply of Sample Tubes

What the buyer is asking for

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) is a Special Health Authority in England, with responsibilities across the United Kingdom for organ donation and transplantation. Our core purpose is to ‘save and improve lives’ through the provision of a safe and reliable supply of blood components, solid organs, stem cells, tissues and related services to the NHS, and to the other UK Health Services where directed.  Testing function in the Blood Supply Directorate performs a wide range of testing services, these include but are not limited to the large-scale blood grouping and microbiological screening of blood and tissue donations. The Authority has two testing sites in England, in which approximately 1.5 million donations are tested each year. Each donation bled requires a minimum of 3 x 6mL sample tubes to be taken into K2 EDTA tubes which have colour coded caps for identification purposes. Some donors also require additional tubes these include but are not limited to 4mL EDTA and K3 EDTA tubes. Tubes are of the evacuation type and the Authority requires a unique bar-code label to be affixed at bed side over a blank manufacturers label.

How this is scored

Published by the buyer. A winning response is written to these weightings, not to the question.

• 90%pricePrice
• 10%qualitySocial Value

How contested is this?

Buyers publish how many bids they received. Across 17 comparable procurements we can tell you the typical field size, how often one of these goes uncontested, and whether the buyer awards on price or on quality.

Timeline

4 published dates · Europe/London

1. Tender notice publishedyesterday

   23 Sept 2026, 16:06 BST
2. Clarification questions byin 25 days

   19 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
3. Submission deadlinein 32 days

   26 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT
4. Award decision expected byin 131 days

   1 Feb 2027, 23:59 GMT

Commercial outcome and contract awards

Nothing awarded yet

Notice history

3 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender

1. Pipeline or early engagement notice27 Jan 2026, 14:29 GMT007152-2026
2. Notice published27 Jan 2026, 15:40 GMT007219-2026
3. Tender notice23 Sept 2026, 16:06 BST090292-2026

Documents

• Tender notice on Find a Tender