Official UK procurement notice
Supply of Sample Tubes · UK public procurement notice
Authority: NHS Blood and Transplant (Central government)
What is being bought
Published requirement descriptionNHS 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.
- The authority expects to re-tender this requirement around 1 Feb 2027, 23:59 GMT.
CPV: Medical equipments, pharmaceuticals and personal care products
The lotProcurement structure
single lot · value publishedLot #1RenewalPublished value£2,900,000
What it takes to wini
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Evaluation split and conditions of participation as published; the tender pack may add morei
How this buyer will score bids.
The evaluation criteria and weights exactly as published on the notice, grouped by family (price, quality, social value and so on).
Published award criteria (2)
- Price
- Social Value
No conditions of participation were published on the notice; check the tender documents.
- Price carries 90 of 100 points: a 10% discount moves about 9 points. This one is won on the number: sharpen the price before polishing the prose.
- Turnover usually expected at this size: about £1,158,730 (twice the annual value).
Price arithmetic assumes straight proportional scoring; the tender pack may use another formula. Turnover is an indicative market norm (≈2× annual value), not a published condition.
Competition analysis · published record, not a forecast of who will bid
How NHS Blood and Transplant buys Medical equipments, pharmaceuticals (CPV 33), and who usually turns up
NHS Blood and Transplant’s published record next to the market for the same work. Frameworks and DPS are left out: they draw different bid counts. Whole-market view: Medical equipments, pharmaceuticals (CPV 33) →
How the contest usually goes
Winner shares use published awards; bid and price charts use contested lots.
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How often small and medium firms win.
Share of awards where the winner’s size is known.
The counts under this question show how many awards have a known supplier size.
Small firms have won here. Neither number says whether you qualify; it describes who has been winning.
i
How often local firms win similar work.
Winners with a registered address in the delivery region, out of awards with a known address.
Local means the winner is registered in the region where that award was delivered. The market figure counts awards delivered in South West England (authority’s region).
A local branch does not count if the registered address is elsewhere.
Most of this buyer’s recorded winners were registered outside the region where that award was delivered.
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How long buyers here take to decide after bids close.
Middle value in days from the bid deadline to the award date, on competitions that published both.
Only decided tenders count, so slow ones still waiting are not in.
Half of these awards have an award date within 17 days of the bid deadline.
i
How often work is awarded with no recorded rival.
Direct awards and tenders where every published lot count shows one bid.
The market share is a minimum: some awards have no bid count.
Thin markets produce this too; it is not proof of a tailored specification.
Direct awards or one recorded bid are common here. Check the route before spending time on a bid.
How many bids did past lots attract?
i
How many bids past lots received.
Each colour is a bid-count range. Only competed lots with a published count are included.
Past bids do not predict this tender.
1 bid50% / 18%
2–340% / 73%
4–610% / 9%
7+0% / 0%
How did awards compare with estimates?
i
Where winning prices landed against estimates.
Each colour shows awards below, close to or above the published estimate, one lot at a time.
Past prices are a guide, not a bid price.
Below estimate46% / 32%
Within ±2%23% / 68%
Above estimate31% / 0%
Assess each lot i
What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
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What past awards tell you about each lot.
See the forecast, this buyer’s earlier suppliers and firms with relevant wins.
No supplier is confirmed as a bidder.
Open a lot for its forecast, this buyer’s previous supplier and possible competitors, from published award history, not a bid list
Lot #1CPV 33Published estimate£2.9m
This lot lists more than one class in CPV 33. The comparison uses that group.
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How many bids this lot may attract.
The forecast uses similar past competitions. The bar shows either that forecast or past bid counts; the line below says which.
Each lot shows its own forecast based on its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A forecast, not a list of bidders.
1 bid63%
2–322%
4–610%
7+5%
i
Where the award price may land.
The forecast uses similar awards and the buyer’s estimate. The band covers the middle half of likely prices.
Based on 22 comparable awards. Each lot reflects its own category; forecasts for different lots of the same notice are not comparative.
A statistical guide from past awards, not a price to bid.
Middle 50%£2.7m–£2.9m
Estimate£2.9m
Who has supplied this buyer on similar work? i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
A past supplier may not bid again.
| Supplier | This buyer’s earlier contract | Lot | Award value | Why listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greiner Bio-One LimitedEarlier contract | Sample Tubesended Aug 2026 | Sample tubes | £1.5m | Matched as the earlier contract |
| Molecular Dimensions LtdWorked for this buyer | Framework for the Supply of Solutions, Reagents and Serumsruns to Jun 2030 | Supply of Nuclear Buffer Base | £275k | Similar wording and category |
| Rapid Labs LimitedWorked for this buyer | Framework for the Supply of Solutions, Reagents and Serumsruns to Jun 2030 | Supply of Modified Alsevers Solution | £295k | Similar wording and category |
| SUSSEX BIOLOGICALS LTDWorked for this buyer | Framework for the Supply of Solutions, Reagents and Serumsruns to Jun 2030 | Supply of Phosphate Buffered Saline Solution (PBSS) and Concentrate (PBSC) | £50k | Similar wording and category |
| Velico MedicalWorked for this buyer | UK Derived & Manufactured Dried Plasma Componentnotice published Apr 2023 | — | — | Similar wording and category |
Who could compete for this lot? i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
i
Who could compete for this lot?
Firms with relevant past wins. On a framework, we show firms on that agreement.
None is confirmed as a bidder.
| Supplier | Won in this category | Live contracts | Award vs estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| £476k3 awards in 36m · last 7 months ago | 3 live · £6.3m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | no comparable pairs | |
| 3 awards in 36m · last 5 months ago | 2 live · £2.9m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | 18% below n=1 | |
| £18k2 awards in 36m · last 16 months ago | None on file | no comparable pairs | |
Rapid Labs LimitedLarge | 1 awards in 36m · last 5 months ago | None on file | no comparable pairs |
| £20m50 awards in 36m · last 1 months ago | 12 live · £1.7m iPublic contracts this supplier still holds. Its awards whose published end date is still in the future, with their values. Many contracts publish no end date, so this is a floor, not the whole book. Unexpired says nothing about spare capacity. | at estimate n=1 |
About this data
- Source. Official UK public procurement notices (Find a Tender), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. New notices arrive through the day; the figures are rebuilt nightly.
- Two views, kept apart. The authority’s own track record and the wider market for the same kind of work sit side by side and are never mixed. Where the local picture is too thin, a figure widens to a broader market and says which one it used.
- Forecasts are labelled. The price forecast and its range, possible competitors and the earlier-work matches are our estimates from past awards: not published facts, not win chances and not price advice. Official notices do not say who is bidding.
- Every figure shows what it rests on. Not every notice publishes a bid count, a value or a delivery region, so each figure carries the number of records behind it, and one built on few records is marked as such. The on a figure explains it; the counting rules are in the methodology. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.
What this replaces i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
59% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
i
Who has done similar work for this buyer.
Past contracts are matched by buyer, title and type of work.
59% title match.
A past supplier may not bid again.
The prior contract this notice most likely re-tenders · matched by title and category (59% title match), the holder is not guaranteed to re-bid
Sample Tubes — held by Greiner Bio-One Limited and Greiner Bio-One Limited; the published contract ends 7 Aug 2026.
Procedure terms & legal framework
From the official record- Procedure method
- Open procedure
- Legal basis
- UKPGA · 2023/54 Procurement Act 2023
- Procurement category
- Goods
- Notice status
- Open for tender
- Procurement threshold
- Above threshold (FTS publication)
- Regulatory regime
- Standard
- Commercial structure
- Stand-alone contract (no framework)
- Competition type
- Competitive procedure
- GPA / WTO covered
- Unspecified in notice
- Recurring procurement
- Yes · next expected 1 Feb 2027
- First published
- 27 Jan 2026, 14:29 GMT
- Last source update
- 23 Sept 2026, 16:06 BST
- Award evaluation window
- Submission end – 1 Feb 2027
- Authority reference
C413033- FTS notice number
2026/S 000-090292- Latest notice
- Tender notice (UK4)
- Classification (CPV)
- Delivery area
- Not published
- Official registry OCID
ocds-h6vhtk-060fccFind a Tender
How to participate & submission route
Official notice Submit via Atamis (Health Family)- Requests to participate (first stage)
- —
- Tender submission deadline
- 26 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Clarification deadline
- 19 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
- Submission channel
- Official e-sourcing portal
- Electronic submission
- Allowed
- Accepted languages
- en
via Atamis eSourcing Portal:
Timeline
27 Jan 2026 → 1 Mar 2027 · 8 dates- Planning notice published269 days ago27 Jan 2026, 14:29 GMT
- Market engagement258 days ago6 Feb 2026, 23:59 GMT
Interested suppliers will receive a pre-tender questionnaire for completion. Please contact [email protected] to register your interest.
- Next notice expected204 days ago1 Apr 2026, 23:59 BST
- Tender notice published30 days ago23 Sept 2026, 16:06 BST
- Clarification questions by4 days ago19 Oct 2026, 12:00 BST
- Today23 Oct 2026
- Submission deadlinein 3 days26 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT
- Award decision expected byin 102 days1 Feb 2027, 23:59 GMT
- Contract startsin 129 days1 Mar 2027
Notice history
7 events · 3 releases on Find a Tender · since 27 Jan 2026- Preliminary market engagement notice published27 Jan 2026, 14:29 GMTUK2
- Preliminary market engagement notice published27 Jan 2026, 15:40 GMTUK2
- Tender notice published23 Sept 2026, 16:06 BSTUK4
- Published value updated to £2,900,00023 Sept 2026, 16:06 BSTwas £2,000,000
- Status changed to active23 Sept 2026, 16:06 BST
- Procurement method changed23 Sept 2026, 16:06 BST
- Deadline published: 26 Oct 2026, 12:00 GMT23 Sept 2026, 16:06 BST
Published amendments (1)
Incorrect contract title
Commercial outcome & contract awards
Nothing awarded yet- Awards (0)
- No award published
- Contracts (0)
- No contract published
- Bid statistics
- No aggregate bid statistics published
Contracting authority & participating public bodies
Official documents & specifications (3)
Official links; attachments are not copiedNotices published for this procedure
- Tender notice Tender notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender
- Preliminary market engagement notice Preliminary market engagement notice on Find a Tender