SOLICITATION NOTICE
B -- Postmortem Human Brain Collection – Central Virginia District - Notice of Intent to Sole Source
- Notice Date
- 9/7/2016
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 3155, MSC 9593, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20892
- Solicitation Number
- HHS-NIH-NIDA-SSSA-NOI-16-736
- Archive Date
- 10/2/2016
- Point of Contact
- Keshia McDonald, Phone: 301-827-5301, Nancy Lamon-Kritikos, Phone: 301.480.2447
- E-Mail Address
-
keshia.mcdonald@nih.gov, nancy.lamon-kritikos@nih.gov
(keshia.mcdonald@nih.gov, nancy.lamon-kritikos@nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Notice of Intent to Sole Source to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Central District PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES: The Human Brain Collection Core (HBCC) requests the services of the Virginia State Department of Health/Richmond MEO, the Contractor to extract human postmortem human brain tissue, various specimens at autopsy, and provide medical/toxicology information essential for research into the neurobiology of major mental disorders. The donated by next-of kin postmortem human brain tissue and specimens will be used by the HBCC and approved investigators for research into the neurobiology of complex mental disorders. This research will lead to improved diagnosis, treatment and/or prevention of these illnesses and their consequences. PROJECT DESCRIPTION/SCOPE OF WORK: The Virginia Medical Examiner's Office (Richmond ME), the Contractor will collect human brains and specimens that may be of interest to the NIMH for research into the neurobiology of major mental disorders. The donated human brains and specimens will be used by the Human Brain Collection Core (HBCC) for research into the neurobiology of complex mental disorders (e.g. schizophrenia, depression, substance abuse and suicide) in order to better understand the basis of these disorders. This research will hopefully lead to improved diagnosis, treatment and/or prevention of these illnesses and their consequences, including suicide. On a daily basis, the Richmond ME Contractor, will review each case for potential donation to determine which cases may be of interest to HBCC research, in particular those who have signed organ donor cards and others with a reasonable suspicion of a history of mental or neurological illness, particularly schizophrenia as well as non-psychiatric controls across the lifespan. Once a case is selected, Richmond ME will contact HBCC personnel and will provide: 1) the general background of the case; 2) information regarding whether the deceased is an organ donor; and 3) the name and telephone number of the deceased next-of-kin. HBCC staff will promptly contact the next-of-kin of the decedent to obtain consent (via a recorded telephone call) to utilize the deceased subject's brain and skull contents (including dura, pituitary, pineal, and upper cervical spinal cord), blood and hair sample for research. HBCC staff will also solicit the release medical records. Once consent is obtained by HBCC personnel, the Richmond ME is notified to extract the brain, a full-length hair sample with a small piece of contiguous scalp, and 40cc of blood. The Richmond ME will begin extraction promptly upon notification of approval from the NIMH; whenever possible, the process should begin within 24 hours of death; unless approved by the NIMH Project Officer, specimens extracted beyond 48 hours cannot be accepted for donation. The Richmond ME will provide to the HBCC any relevant information related to a specimen including cause and manner of death, relevant history and/or toxicology in order to allow optimal characterization of the specimen, provided this information does not compromise the forensic evaluation of the case. The specimens will be shipped by the Richmond ME to the NIMH. Prior to shipping, the NIMH shall be contacted with shipping details, including the overnight courier tracking number. The Richmond ME will properly prepare and package the specimen in accordance with all Federal, State and City regulation. REQUIRED CONTRACTOR EXPERIENCE: 1. The contractor has a medical degree and specializes in forensic pathology. The contractor has experience working at the Medical Examiner Office and extracting human brains. 2. The contractor is a medical doctor, and a certified pathologist in Virginia. 3. A minimum of five years of experience in MEO is required. CONTRACTING WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME) DETERMINATION The determination by the Government to award a contract without providing for full and open competition is based upon the market research conducted. Specifically, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Central Virginia District is the only vendor in the marketplace that can provide the services required by NIMH. In accordance with FAR part 10, extensive market research was conducted to reach this determination. Specifically, a sources sought notice was posted to FedBizOpps referencing the above detailed requirements and no responses were received from other vendors. Additionally, contacts with knowledgeable individuals both in industry and Government, as well as reviews of available product literature, revealed no other sources. Finally, a review of the GSA Advantage, and Dynamic Small Business Search returned no results that meet all of the requirements. Therefore, only the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Central Virginia District is capable of meeting the needs of this requirement. The Intended Source Is: Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Central Virginia District CLOSING STATEMENT THIS SYNOPSIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement. Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties' bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov. All responses must be received by the closing date and time of this announcement and must reference the solicitation number, HHS-NIH-NIDA-SSSA-NOI-16-736. Responses must be submitted electronically to Keshia McDonald, Contract Specialist, at keshia.mcdonald@nih.gov. U.S. Mail and Fax responses will not be accepted.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/NIDA-01/HHS-NIH-NIDA-SSSA-NOI-16-736/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: National Institutes of Health, Maryland, United States
- Record
- SN04261425-W 20160909/160908000619-1c47df8737a99c1af8064e004f3b772e (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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