NICHD Brain and Tissue Repository

THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT, NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. A SOLICITATION WILL BE ISSUED ON A LATER DATE.



The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH) intends to solicit proposals for sources to provide repository services for brain and tissue specimens through full and open competitive procedures under NAICS 621991. It is anticipated that a single cost reimbursement, completion type contract will be awarded for a 1-year base period with 4 (four) 1-year options of performance beginning on or about August 1, 2009.



The NICHD Brain and Tissue Bank was established to advance the research of developmental disabilities. Human autopsy and surgical tissues are retrieved from all over the United States and also from various International sites, including Canada. Over 300 disorders are represented. They include: diagnosed Downs Syndrome, other chromosomal defects, mitochondrial encephalopathies, phenylketonuria and other aminoacidopathies, maternal phenylketonuria, Rett syndrome, leukodystrophies, lysosomal disorders, unexplained forms of mental retardation, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), dyslexia, autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders. Specific tissues collected include the following: brain, spinal cord, cerebrospinal fluid, blood and serum, peripheral nerves, liver, kidney, pancreas, lungs, spleen, adrenal, skeletal muscles, heart, skin, thyroid, lymph nodes and gonads.



The purpose of this acquisition is to continue to provide a resource designed to receive, store, catalog, preserve, and distribute specimens to qualified investigators. The contract will include Quality Assurance/Quality Control requirements for prospective evaluation of short and long term specimen integrity, viability and function. Data generated will aid in ongoing specimen management, including identification and removal of non-useful specimens as well as possible refinement of specimen cataloging and storage models. NICHD anticipates that thousands of diverse specimens will be collected from premortem by biopsy and postmortem from unaffected fetuses and individuals as well as fetuses and individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. The repository will need to establish mechanisms to convey to the professional and lay public the existence of the repositories and the need to obtain tissues.



The repository shall be located in facilities with specific space allocated from the purpose of this contract, including back-up electrical supplies for computers and storage resources. The repository shall provide sufficient freezer capacity to ultimately store and maintain biologic specimens derived from approximately 4000 total human donors by the end of the five-year contract period. This estimate includes the approximate 60,000 current donor specimens from approximately 2500 donors, which will transfer with the award, as well as the projected accumulation and storage of an additional 35,000 donor specimens over the course of contract performance.



The RFP will be available electronically on or about April 3, 2009 and may be accessed through the FedBizOpps. All responsible sources may submit a proposal which will be considered by the Agency. This notice does not commit the Government to award a contract. No collect calls will be accepted. No facsimile or email transmissions will be accepted. See Government-wide Numbered Note 26.