Official UK procurement notice
Supply of Copper Sulphate Solution
Authority: NHS Blood and Transplant (Central government)·Consortium: 2 public authorities
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionSupply of Copper Sulphate Solution
CPV: Blood-testing reagents
How this framework works
From the published notice- Bids received
- 1 bids received · 1 suppliers appointed
- Framework period
- 5 yrs 6 mo from 11 Jun 2021, Duration in accordance with the contract terms.
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · no lot value publishedLot #1Supply of Copper Sulphate Solution for use in NHS Blood and Transplant's pre-donation…Awarded
Supply of Copper Sulphate Solution for use in NHS Blood and Transplant's pre-donation haemoglobin screening activities.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record · publisher note attached- Procedure method
- Award procedure without prior publication of a call for competition
- Legal basis
- CELEX · 32014L0024 Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (Directive 2014/24/EU)
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Awarded without competition
- Procurement threshold
- Unspecified in notice
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Framework agreement
- Who may use this agreement
- Not stated in the notice; call-off rights may be limited to the establishing authority
- Competition type
- Direct award (no call for competition)
- GPA / WTO covered
- Yes (GPA)
- Recurring procurement
- Unspecified in notice
- First published
- 28 May 2021, 22:45 BST
- Last source update
- 7 Sept 2026, 16:47 BST
- Authority reference
C36473- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-084603- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-02b6b4Find a Tender
- Why no open competition
The works, supplies or services can be provided only by a particular economic operator due to absence of competition for technical reasons
- Published justification
VWR International Limited carry out the preparation, quality control testing, storage & transportation of bulk product and dispensing, storage and transportation of end-stage product in compliance with Article 9(1) and Annex III of Council Directive 98/79/EC, for which NHSBT hold the certification of the device under the Medical Devices Regulations 2002. There are consequently no other suppliers in the market that would be able to provide suitable evidence to meet this requirement.
- Review procedure
Review procedures are governed by the Public Contracts Regulations 2015
Publisher note: This notice is published retrospectively in relation to a contract modification approved under Regulation 72(1)(b) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.<br/> <br/><br/>The modification increased the contract value from £700,000 to £1,050,000 to ensure continuity of supply of Copper Sulphate Solution used in NHS Blood and Transplant's pre-donation haemoglobin screening activities.<br/>The modification did not alter the overall nature of the contract.
How it was run
Official notice- Appointment period ends
- —
Timeline
11 Jun 2021 → 7 Sept 2026 · 2 dates- Contract starts11 Jun 2021, 00:00 BST
- Notice published48 days ago7 Sept 2026, 16:47 BST
Notice history
1 event · 2 releases on Find a Tender- Buyer details updated7 Sept 2026, 16:47 BST
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Published awards, contracts and bid statistics, not a forecast2 suppliers are admitted to this framework without individual award values or dates, see the supplier list below.
Contracts
Supply of Copper Sulphate Solution
- Signed
- 4 May 2021
- Value
- £1,050,000
- Period
- 11 Jun 2021 – 10 Dec 2026
- Status
- active
- Change The contract value was increased from £700,000 to £1,050,000, representing a 50% increase in the original contract value, in accordance with Regulation 72(1)(b) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Additional supplies of Copper Sulphate Solution from the original contractor became necessary to meet increased product demand arising from NHS Blood and Transplant's response to the Amber Alert and to maintain continuity of pre-donation haemoglobin screening activities. The additional value also reflected supplier price increases required to support the continued supply of the product due to labour and raw material price increases. A change of contractor could not reasonably be made without significant operational inconvenience and risk to continuity of supply, as any alternative product and supply arrangement would need to meet NHSBT's technical, quality and operational requirements before implementation. The modification was limited to the continued supply of the same product by the existing contractor, did not alter the overall nature of the contract and did not exceed 50% of the original contract value. NHSBT also brought forward the planned re-procurement of the contract., Need for modification brought about by circumstances which a diligent contracting authority/entity could not foresee: The modification was required to meet increased product demand arising from NHS Blood and Transplant's response to the Amber Alert and to maintain continuity of pre-donation haemoglobin screening activities. A change of contractor could not reasonably be made without significant operational inconvenience and risk to continuity of supply, as any alternative product and supply arrangement would need to meet NHSBT's technical, quality and operational requirements before implementation. The contract value was increased from £700,000 to £1,050,000 in accordance with Regulation 72(1)(b) of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The modification did not alter the overall nature of the contract and NHSBT also brought forward the planned re-procurement of the contract.
Supply of Copper Sulphate Solution
- Signed
- 22 Apr 2021
- Value
- £700,000
- Period
- … – 10 Dec 2026
- Status
- active
Bid statistics published by the authority
| Bids | SME | VCSE | Valid bid range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1bids | — | — | — |
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
2 public bodies on the noticeConsortium members and other public bodies
- NHS Blood and TransplantContracting authorityReview body
Framework contractors & participating bidders
2 commercial parties on the notice- VWR INTERNATIONAL LTDFramework contractor
- VWR International LimitedFramework contractor
Official documents & specifications
Official links; attachments are not copiedNo document links were published on the notice.