Sources SoughtPosted Aug 18, 2026·Responses due Aug 31, 2026

Q301--SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE/PRE-SOL - Referral Laboratory Services for Specialized Red Cell Immunohematology Testing

Veterans Affairs · 256-NETWORK CONTRACT OFFICE 16 (36C256)

Stage
Early notice (sources sought, presolicitation or special notice)
NAICS
621511
Value
Not stated
Solicitation
36C25626Q1223
Set-aside
None stated
PSC
Q301
Place
Little Rock, USA
Contact
ARLENA .BLADE (arlene.blade@va.gov)
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CSV Email

Capture briefs (a one-page, shareable copy of this page) are part of Pro. The CSV here holds the notice, its timeline and past awards.

Where this opportunity stands

Every notice posted under solicitation 36C25626Q1223 in this department, oldest first.

Early notice
  • Aug 18, 2026
    Sources Sought
    Open
  • Aug 18, 2026 · this notice
    Sources Sought
Solicitation
None posted
Award
Not yet. Typical award: Oct 2, 2026 to Dec 21, 2026, middle of the range Nov 19, 2026.
Measured from 44 past early notices at Veterans Affairs, Department of with NAICS 621511 that later posted an award (middle half of cases, counted from Aug 18, 2026).

Next steps for this stage

Standard steps for the notice type; not advice about this buyer.

  • Answer the notice: this is when the requirement can still be shaped.
  • Contact the contracting officer named on the notice.
  • Check who won similar work; they are the likely bidders.

What the notice says

Purpose: The Department of Veterans Affairs intends to issue a solicitation for the procurement of services from a qualified referral laboratory capable of providing the services of an Immunohematology referral laboratory accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks to conduct specialized testing for the identification of unknown antibodies in patients who are unable to receive compatible blood transfusions. This testing supports the identification and resolution of unknown antibodies and complex red cell transfusion related issues in patients to ensure the safe transfusion of compati… (show all)

ble blood to our patients. Department of Veterans Affairs, Network Contracting Office 16, in support of VISN 16, Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System s Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Service, located at 4300 West 7th Street, Little Rock, AR 72205. Requirement Description: The selected referral laboratory shall provide advanced testing services including, but not limited to: Identification of unknown red cell antibodies. Resolution of complex serologic problems affecting transfusion compatibility. Performance of specialized immunohematology procedures beyond the capabilities of the local VA laboratory. Timely reporting of results and consultation with VA transfusion medicine personnel as needed to support urgent or emergent patient care. These specialized services are essential to ensure the safe transfusion of compatible blood products to Veteran patients who present with atypical, rare, or complex serologic profiles. Anticipated Contract Type: The Government anticipates awarding a firm fixed price IDIQ contract. Further details will be provided in the forthcoming solicitation. Anticipated NAICS Code: NAICS 621511 Medical Laboratories (or the most closely aligned NAICS code applicable to reference laboratory services). Set Aside Status: The Government will determine set aside applicability after completion of market research. Interested small businesses are encouraged to respond once the solicitation is posted. Planned Solicitation Release: The solicitation is expected to be published on SAM.gov. This notice is not a request for quotations or proposals. No award will be made based on this notice. The Government is not requesting capability statements at this time. Interested and capable contractors are encouraged to respond to this notice not later than Monday, August 31, 2026, at 8:00 AM CDT, by providing all the information below via email only to arlene.blade@va.gov : Company name Address Point of contact Phone, fax, and email of primary point of contact Contractor s Unique Entity ID (SAM) number Contractor s small business type, � if applicable, (e.g. Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB), 8(a), HUB-Zone, Woman Owned Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, or Small Business). Statement indicating whether� the Contractor is considered to be small under the size standard for the NAICS code identified under this RFI. 8. Supporting evidence must be furnished in sufficient detail to demonstrate the ability to comply with the above requirement. 9. Manufacturer authorization letter, authorized dealer, authorized distributor, or authorized reseller documentation. NOTE:� The information requested above is required for the Government to evaluate whether there are sufficient small business concerns of a particular type who are capable of performing the work required by this procurement to determine if this procurement should be set aside for a given type of small business concern.� Telephone inquiries will not be accepted. All Contractors who provide goods or services to the United States Government must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database found at https://www.sam.gov. � � Registration must include Representations and Certifications.� --End of Sources Sought Announcement-- 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.� In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), 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.

Who won similar work

4 award notices on SAM.gov in the last 24 months. Matched by: Same office (256-NETWORK CONTRACT OFFICE 16 (36C256)), same product/service code (PSC) Q301 and NAICS 621511.

Single-winner award sizes (4): middle half $150K to $693K, median $371K; range $27K to $1.1M.

WinnerAwardsValueLast
AILIFE DIAGNOSTICS, INC.1$1.1MJun 9, 2025
NATERA INC · $NTRA · $2.7B1$550KJul 10, 2026
TECH62 INC1$191KDec 22, 2025
COLLEGE OF AMERICAN PATHOLOGISTS Northfield IL 60093 USA1$27KOct 16, 2025

Value counts single-winner awards. "Shared" awards are multiple-award contracts that list every winner with the same total ceiling; that ceiling is not one company's win, so it is not added in. Revenue next to a ticker is the company's last annual revenue from its 10-K.

Investor context
  • $NTRA reported $2.7B revenue (12 months to Jun 30, 2026). The median single-winner award in these 4 past awards, $371K, is under 0.1% of that. SEC filing

One award's total value against one year of revenue; many awards are paid over several years.

Latest awards

Materiality: one award's value as a share of the winner's revenue over the latest 12 months in its SEC filings (or its last fiscal year, as noted when you point at it). Low under 1%, Medium 1 to 5%, High 5% or more. Many awards are paid over several years, so this overstates a single year's share.

Competitive landscape

For the 4 most frequent past winners above. Lobbying is matched by the company's exact name or exact ticker; agencies are as named on the filings.

  • 0 of these past winners lobbied Veterans Affairs, Dept of (VA) since 2024 (0 filings)
  • 0 of their lobbyists list a past Veterans Affairs, Dept of (VA) job
  • $3K from their corporate PACs since 2024 to members of House Committee on Appropriations, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs
  • 0 foreign-agent (FARA) registrations
See who and the source records with Pro

Policy around it

Bills the past winners named while lobbying this agency's issues, rules from the department, and executive orders that name the agency, last 12 months.

  • 0 bills named on the past winners' lobbying filings
  • 25 rules from the department in the last 12 months
  • 0 executive orders naming the agency in the last 12 months
See who and the source records with Pro

Market

For past winners matched exactly to a listed company. Insider trades are open-market buys and sells (Form 4) in the last 90 days, shown as facts; our own study found insiders do not reliably buy ahead of awards. A sale marked 10b5-1 was made under a trading plan set up in advance.

  • 1 of the past winners are listed companies
  • 0 insider buys and 26 insider sells at them in the last 90 days
See who and the source records with Pro

Sources: SAM.gov notices and award notices; Senate LDA lobbying filings; FEC filings; FARA; Federal Register; congress.gov; SEC Form 4. Every row above links to its record.

Companies are matched to tickers by exact name only. A company we could not match shows no market rows; that is a miss, not a finding.