Invitational Letter for RFC.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

Date: April 20, 2010 Ladies and Gentlemen:

You are invited to submit a proposal in accordance with the requirements of Solicitation No. 10-250-SOL-00079DM, entitled “National Cord Blood Inventory, Fifth Cohort”. This requirement is to provide for the (Augmentation, Fifth Cohort) collection and maintenance of genetically diverse, high-quality umbilical cord blood units (CBU) for inclusion in the National Cord Blood Inventory (NCBI). Special consideration will be given to offerors demonstrating a superior ability to collect and bank large numbers of CBU from underrepresented populations, especially African-Americans. Organizations previously awarded an NCBI contract may submit proposals and be considered for new contracts under this solicitation; however, the Technical Proposal evaluation factors in Section M.4. include extra points for organizations which have not previously been awarded an NCBI contract.

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement is 621991. It is anticipated that a fixed price type contract 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.

Your proposal should be received by the Contracting Officer no later than at 2:00 P.M. local prevailing time on May 24, 2010 at:

HHS/HRSA/OAFM/DPM

5600 Fishers Lane, Room 13A-19

Rockville, Maryland 20857

Marked for RFP 10-250-SOL-00079DM 301.443.4703

Questions/Clarifications must be submitted in writing (facsimile or e-mail) by 2:00p.m. local prevailing time May 3, 2010.

Because of increased security at Federal buildings, please allow extra time for your proposal to be delivered to the Contracting office. OAFM 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