International Courier Contract For NEQAS/WBMDR

The Welsh Blood Service (WBS), operating under Velindre University NHS Trust, invites tenders for the provision of transport services for biological samples. These services are required to support the operations of two key programmes:

UK National External Quality Assessment Service for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics (UK NEQAS for H&I), which distributes blood samples to medical laboratories globally as part of its External Quality Assessment (EQA) schemes.

Welsh Bone Marrow Donor Registry (WBMDR), which facilitates the transport of donor samples to laboratories worldwide as well as the transport of samples from GPs/Hospitals/Donors addresses within the UK to WBS.

NEQAS offer 19 different EQA Schemes, which are available to laboratories or appropriate companies in the UK and internationally (our customers). The EQA service necessitates the regular distribution of blood samples to our customers to allow us to check the quality of their medical tests. Some of the samples sent deteriorate quickly; therefore, delivery to destinations must be ASAP to ensure samples are suitable for testing.

The successful provider will be required to Ensure timely and reliable distribution of biological samples, including perishable samples that must be delivered to UK and international destinations as quickly as possible to maintain suitability for testing and non-perishable samples, which can be dispatched via courier or post based on customer preferences.

The successful supplier must also be able to provide transport solutions for donor samples originating from GPs, hospitals, or donor addresses within the UK to the WBS, as well as outgoing shipments from WBS to laboratories worldwide.