AN11--STEMprep

The Department of Veterans Affairs

Pittsburgh Healthcare System

Research Laboratory

Sources Sought

THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION ANNOUNCEMENT. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY. This Request for Information (RFI) is intended for information and planning purposes only at this time; and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Because this is a Request for Information announcement, no evaluation letters and/or results will be issued to the respondents. This Sources Sought Notice is for market research purposes only and shall not be considered an Invitation for Bids, Request for Quotations, or a Request for Proposal. Do not submit a proposal or quote. This market research is issued for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation nor does it restrict the Government as to the ultimate acquisition approach. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Additionally, there is no obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services described in this Sources Sought notice. You will not be entitled to payment for direct or indirect costs that you incur in responding to this Sources Sought Notice. Any contract that might be awarded based on information received or derived from this market research will be the outcome of a competitive process. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary, restricted or competition sensitive information contained in their response.

No solicitation exists. Therefore, do not request a copy of a solicitation.

STEMprep TD 12 Sample System

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND:

The STEMprep TD 12 Sample System intended use for tissue processor for generating single cell suspensions is needed to study Veteran lung tissues to detect and treat military respiratory exposures.

OBJECTIVE:

The Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 04, Pittsburgh Healthcare System hereby referred to as the VAPHS Research Laboratory, is requesting the Brand Name only acquisition of the following:

Item Number

Description

Quantity

100-2115

STEMprep TD 12 Sample System

1

EA

100-2135

STEMprep Ms Lung Diss Kit SBOM

3

EA

200-0800

STEMprep Sample Tubes

6

EA

MAJOR REQUIREMENTS:

The Contractor/Vendor must complete the following tasks to meet the needs of this acquisition:

Salient Characteristics for Brand Name STEMprep instrument.

Provide an automated tissue processor capable of generating single cell suspensions for patient tissues and mouse tissues.

instrument must be capable of keeping samples at 37°C and 4°C.

The instrument must generate cell suspensions with high viability obtained through cooling samples post-processing.

instrument must be able to process a minimum of 12 samples at a time and be expandable to at least 16 samples at a time.

POINT OF CONTACT (POC):

The identified POC and technical representative for this acquisition is:

Name: Sara Bruzdewicz

Phone Number: 412-360-2380

Email: Sara.Bruzdewicz@va.gov

"No Government personnel, other than the Contracting Officer, have the authority to change or alter these requirements. The COR shall clarify technical points or supply relevant technical information, but no requirements in this scope of work may be altered as a sole result of such verbal clarification."

REPORTS/DELIVERABLES:

Delivery confirmation of equipment and commodities will be made through the Logistics Department of the VAPHS (646). This will include documentation of receipt and assignment of a facility based EE number for identification and tracking purposes.

Delivery confirmation of non-equipment/ commodities acquisitions is the responsibility of the receiving Facility and/ or Service.

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION INSTRUCTIONS:

The information identified above is intended to be descriptive, not restrictive and to indicate the quality of the supplies/services that will be satisfactory. It is the responsibility of the interested source to demonstrate to the government that the interested parties can provide the supplies/services that fulfill the required specifications mentioned above.

Responses to this RFI should include company name, address, point of contact, phone number, and point of contact e-mail, UEI Number, Cage Code, size of business pursuant to North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) 339112 (size standard of 1000 employees). Please answer the following questions:

Please indicate the size status and representations of your business, such as but not limited to: Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB), Hubzone, Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB), Large Business, etc.)?

Is your company considered small under the NAICS code identified under this RFI?

Are you the manufacturer, distributor, or an equivalent solution to the items being referenced above?

If not, can you provide additional information shown below. This is to confirm compliance with the non-manufacturer rule IAW 13 CFR 121.406(b) Nonmanufacturers.

Does your company exceed 1000 employees;

Primarily engaged in the retail or wholesale trade and normally sells the type of item being supplied;

Take ownership or possession of the item(s) with its personnel, equipment or facilities in a manner consistent with industry practice;

Obtained an individual or class waiver?

If you are a large business, do you have any designated distributors? If so, please provide their company name, telephone, point of Contact and size status (if available).

If you re a small business and you are an authorized distributor/reseller for the items identified above or an equivalent solution, do you alter; assemble; modify; the items requested in any way? If you do, state how and what is altered; assembled; modified?

If you intend to subcontract any work on this contract, what portion of the total cost will be self-performed/will be performed by your organization? Please provide estimated detailed percentage breakdowns related to subcontracted work and completion of job.

Does your company have an FSS contract with GSA or the NAC or are you a contract holder with any other federal contract? If so, please provide the contract number.

If you are an FSS GSA/NAC contract holder or other federal contract holder, are the items/solution you are providing information for available on your schedule/contract?

General pricing of your products/solution is encouraged. Pricing will be used for the purpose of market research only. It will not be used to evaluate for any type of award.

Please submit your capabilities in regard to the salient characteristics detailed above and any information pertaining to equal to items to establish capabilities for planning purposes?

Please review salient characteristics/statement of work (if applicable) and provide feedback or suggestions. If none, please reply as N/A.

Please provide your UEI number.

This RFI will be conducted in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13. Telephone responses will not be accepted. Responses must be received via e-mail to Doretha.Jordan@va.gov no later than, 16:30 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on June 02,2026. This notice will help the VA in determining available potential sources only. Do not contact VA Medical Center staff regarding this requirement, as they are not authorized to discuss this matter related to this procurement action. All questions will be addressed by the Contracting Specialist, Doretha Jordan. Questions or responses will include the Source Sought number in the subject line.

All firms responding to this Request for Information are advised that their response is not a request for proposal, therefore they will not be considered for a contract award.

Any interested business concern must submit a no longer than 10-page capability statement addressing its ability to meet the requirements listed above to Capability Statement shall include a statement regarding how the business concern is engaged in wholesale trade and normally sells the item being supplied and how the business concern will take ownership of the items being delivered. Vendors shall also provide certification, evidence that they are an authorized distributor of the Original Equipment Manufacturer.

If a solicitation is issued, information will be posted on the SAM web site for all qualified interested parties at a later date and interested parties must respond to the solicitation to be considered for award. This notice does not commit the government to contract for any supplies or services. The government will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred in response to this Request for Information. Information will only be accepted in writing by e-mail to Contracting Officer at Doretha.Jordan@va.gov.

DISCLAIMER

This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI.