Purchase of Apheresis Machines, ongoing Maintenance and Consumables

The South Wales Blood and Marrow Transplant (SWBMT) Programme serves adults and children in the catchment area of mid, west and south Wales, accounting for nearly 80% of the Welsh population. It consists of a Clinical Programme supported by Collection and Processing Facilities. Of the 53 transplant centres in the UK and Eire, the SWBMT Programme is one of the few whose activities cover the entire spectrum of clinical, collection, processing, and storage services.

The service is delivered across two Local Health Boards – Swansea Bay University Health Board (SBUHB) and Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (CVUHB). The Collection Facility, within which apheresis activity is conducted, is based at CVUHB with adult and paediatric collection units at the University Hospital of Wales and the Children’s Hospital for Wales, respectively.

All apheresis technology must therefore be approved for use in the United Kingdom in both children and adults across the range of services currently provided. The Programme is accredited by JACIE (the Joint Accreditation Committee of the ISCT and EBMT) and licensed by the HTA (Human Tissue Authority), licence number 11094, for all activities pursuant to the Human Tissue (Quality and Safety for Human Application) Regulations 2007 and the Human Tissue Act 2004.

The SWBMT has received capital funding for the purchase of three new Apheresis machines and as such, the NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership (NWSSP), hosted by Velindre NHS Trust are acting on behalf of Cardiff and Vale University Local Health Board who are seeking to establish a contract for the Purchase of three Apheresis Machines as well as ongoing Maintenance. A separate lot is advertised under this Procurement for the supply of the compatible consumables.