Netherlands – Blood-testing reagents – Gevalideerde Totaaloplossing voor de hielprikscreening op stofwisselingsziekten met behulp van massaspectrometrie voor meerdere Laboratoria

Neonatal heel prick screening (NHS) is a national screening programme carried out on newborns in the first week after birth. In the Netherlands (European and Caribbean Netherlands), approximately 170,000 newborns receive the heel prick each year. The heel prick screening is the longest-running national screening programme in public health care. The analysis of the heel prick blood provides important information on twenty-seven rare, often hereditary, serious conditions. The blood test will be conducted by three Screening Laboratories from 2026, with the Screening Laboratory of RIVM-GZB serving as the Reference Laboratory. The Screening Laboratories are responsible for the analysis of the heel prick blood sample and timely reporting of the result. The blood test for the presence of fifteen of the twenty-seven diseases is currently carried out by means of mass spectrometry. In order to ensure the required uniform execution of the analyses, the three Screening Laboratories must use the same Tandem Mass Spectrometry equipment with accompanying multiplex kit. To guarantee uniformity, quality and efficiency, the RIVM has decided to purchase the equipment (hardware), software, reagents and related maintenance (preventive, corrective, adaptive), also known as the Total Solution, and make it available to the Screening Laboratories. This Procurement Procedure concerns an order for the delivery, implementation and maintenance of a validated Total Solution for the heel prick screening for the Screening Laboratories. The aim of this European procurement is to conclude an Agreement with one Supplier, according to the principle of reagent rental whereby the Supplier remains the owner of the equipment. The Supplier will be fully responsible for delivering, implementing and continuously making the Total Solution available and for performing related services in accordance with the specifications set out in the Procurement Documents. This Procurement Procedure also includes the purchase of a mass spectrometer/liquid chromatography system for the Reference Laboratory of RIVM-GZB (including hardware, software and maintenance).