Invitational Letter.doc

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Office of Administration & Financial Management Health Resources and Services Administration Division of Procurement Management HRSA Acquisitions Branch

Room 13A-19, Parklawn Building

5600 Fishers Lane

Rockville, MD 20857-5600

08-N234-6002-dm 3 April 2008

Ladies and Gentlemen:

You are invited to submit a proposal in accordance with the requirements of Solicitation No 08-N234-6002-dm entitled “National Cord Blood Inventory, Third Cohort”. This requirement is to provide for the (Augmentation, Third Cohort) collection and maintenance of genetically diverse, high-quality umbilical cord blood units (CBU) for inclusion in the National Cord Blood Inventory (NCBI). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement is 621991. It is anticipated that fixed price type contract(s) will result from this solicitation. The contract duration is for ten years. See Sections L and M for specific proposal instruction and evaluation criteria. Please also note that the Government reserves the right to make multiple awards from this solicitation. It should be noted that according to the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-129), “The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall enter into one-time contracts [this means those having received awards under solicitation 06-N234-5504-AM or 07-N234-5765-dm would not be eligible for award] with qualified cord blood banks to assist in the collection and maintenance of 150,000 new units of high-quality cord blood to be made available for transplantation through the C.W. Bill Young Cell Transplantation Program.”

Your proposal should be received by the Contracting Officer no later than at 2:00 P.M. local prevailing time on 6 May 2008 at:

HHS/HRSA/OAFM/DPM

5600 Fishers Lane, Room 13A-19

Rockville, Maryland 20857

Marked for RFP 08-N234-6002-dm 301.443.4703

Questions/Clarifications must be submitted in writing (facsimile or e-mail) by 10:00a.m. local prevailing time 10 April 2008.

Because of increased security at Federal buildings, please allow extra time for your proposal to be delivered to the Contracting office. DPM will not accept courier packages of any kind, except from couriers who have authorized access to the building (i.e., government issued identification badges) due to heightened security. This pertains to all deliveries to Parklawn Building, Room 13A-19. Currently the following organizations have authorized access to the Building: Federal Express, United Parcel Service, and the U.S. Postal Service. Certain other courier services in the Washington Metropolitan area also have access. Please check with the courier service you plan to use for delivery to ensure they currently have authorized access to the Building.

Your proposal shall be prepared in accordance with the section of this solicitation entitled, “Instructions, Conditions and Notice to Offerors,” and the terms of this Request for Proposals.

In addition, your proposal must provide a contact name and number, your company name and complete address, including street, city, county, state, zip code, e-mail address, Tax Identification Number (TIN), Dunn and Bradstreet Number (DUNS) and be signed by an official authorized to bind your organization. Please note that FAR 52.204-6 Contractor Identification Number Data Universal System (DUNS Number) and 52.204-7 Central Contractor Registration (CCR) requires any prospective awardee to have a DUNS number and be registered in the CCR database prior to award, during performance, and through final payment of any contract, basic agreement, basic ordering agreement, or blanket purchasing agreement resulting from this solicitation.

This RFP does not commit the Government to pay any costs for the preparation and submission of a proposal. It is also brought to your attention that the Contracting Officer is the only individual who can legally commit the Government to expenditure of public funds in connection with this proposed acquisition.

Questions or issues requiring clarification should be referred only to Daniel Matusiewicz, Contract Specialist, who may be reached at (301) 443-4703, or fax (301) 443-5462, or dmatusiewicz@hrsa.gov.

Sincerely yours, Francis R. Murphy

Contracting Officer