UNSPSC 41102917: Microtome blades

UNSPSC 41102917 Microtome blades, a Commodity code, encompasses histology laboratory services—tissue embedding, cutting, staining, and microscopic analysis of biological specimens—rather than the physical blade itself. State and local governments procure these services primarily through medical examiner offices and forensic pathology laboratories, which conduct postmortem examinations and provide expert testimony for medicolegal investigations. Issuing bodies include county governments (particularly county boards of commissioners and medical examiners offices) and state criminal investigation bureaus. The work involves routine and special staining protocols—hematoxylin and eosin, acid-fast bacilli, fungal, Gram, Wright-Giemsa, reticulum, and Masson's trichrome stains—with completed reports typically required within four working days of specimen receipt, chain-of-custody documentation, specimen storage, and expert consultation availability. Contractors must hold state laboratory certifications and College of American Pathologists accreditation; professional personnel require credentials such as HT(ASCP) or HTL(ASCP), along with participation in proficiency testing programs and professional liability insurance.

Recent activity centers in Florida and Georgia. Brevard County Board of County Commissioners, Florida, posted RFQ-7-26-07 on September 21, 2026 (proposal deadline April 7, 2026), soliciting qualified histology laboratory services for the Medical Examiner's Office with a five-year contract term; the county also issued a sole-source procurement (Solicitation 5050708, posted October 19, 2026) to Professional Pathology Laboratory, LLC for postmortem specimen examination, though that deadline had passed at notice date. The State of Georgia, through the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, issued two compressed-timeline eRFQs: Solicitation 47100GBI0000203 (posted April 29, 2026, deadline May 8, 2026) and Solicitation 47100GBI0000204 (posted May 12, 2026, deadline May 15, 2026), both seeking histology services suppliers. A California state procurement (RFB-IS-26200981, posted May 19, 2026, deadline June 4, 2026) also appears tagged to this code but lacks detailed scope documentation; it includes a Certified Business Enterprise requirement and set-aside eligibility pathway.