Notice of Intent to Sole Source Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) Analyzers

The Defense Health Agency is proceeding with a sole-source acquisition under FAR 6.103-1 to lease three fully automated Grifols Procleix Panther Nucleic Acid Testing (NAT) analyzers for the 59th Medical Wing’s Blood Donor Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. This action is justified due to Grifols Diagnostic Solutions being the only vendor capable of meeting all mandatory technical, operational, and compatibility requirements, including a unique physical footprint of 238 square feet for two units, seamless integration with existing Xpress Pipettors, and the provision of FDA-approved assays for HIV-1/2, HCV, HBV, West Nile Virus, and Babesia. The contract is a Firm-Fixed Price arrangement with a 12-month base period from May 29, 2026, to May 28, 2027, and includes comprehensive services such as 24/7 technical support with a 24-hour on-site response time, installation, validation per CAP, AABB, and FDA standards, software and hardware upgrades at no additional cost, annual on-site and biannual off-site training, and bi-directional interface with the Electronic Health Record system. All services are to be performed at the MTF location, with no option periods or extension clauses included. The contractor must comply with stringent security and operational requirements, including adherence to HIPAA and DoD 6025.18-R for protected health information, prohibition on employing current government personnel without authorization under DODD 5500-7 and AFI 64-106, and the use of only new, non-refurbished equipment. Personnel must be fluent in English, designated in writing, and subject to removal if deemed a security risk. The system must operate without interruption, supported by a full uninterruptible power supply, and undergo an environmental site visit prior to deployment. Equipment must be tracked via barcode tags and inventoried upon check-out and return. The contract requires a 30-day overlap during transition to ensure continuous testing capability for approximately 10,000 annual blood and plasma donations and medical processing for 30,000 basic military trainees. No pricing details, line items, or contract value are disclosed in the documentation, though the acquisition qualifies as a non-competitive procurement under FAR 6.301 due to the sole-source nature of the technical and compatibility requirements