The National Transfusion Microbiology Reference Laboratory (NTMRL) is part of the National Transfusion Microbiology Laboratories (NTML) based at the National Health Service and Blood Transplant, Colindale Centre, Colindale Avenue, London. NTMRL is part of the Patient Services Directorate of NHSBT. NTMRL is an independent reference laboratory within the NHSBT whose main role is the confirmation of reactivity in donors found reactive on the screening tests performed by the NHSBT screening laboratories. In addition to this core activity, NTMRL performs donation screening for the release of deceased donor tissue, and some surgical tissue and stem cell products. This includes both mandatory and non-mandatory screening, including the additional markers required by other authorities and organisations. NTMRL is also responsible for the lot release testing of all new manufacturers’ lots of serology and nucleic acid screening tests used within NHSBT for donation screening. Finally NTMRL is tasked with providing organisation-wide advice, support and guidance in those aspects of the field of Transfusion Microbiology that it has expertise in.
NTMRL currently offers a range of confirmatory and screening services, serological and molecular, and the open system diagnostic assays used for confirmatory/ reference investigations performed by NTMRL are as follows:
1. HBV
1.1. HBsAg
1.2. anti-HBc (total)
1.3. anti-HBc (IgM)
1.4. anti-HBs
1.5. HBeAg/ anti-HBe
2. HIV
2.1. HIV 1+2 Ag/Ab
2.2. anti-HIV 1/2 western blot
2.3. anti-HIV 1/2 line assay
3. HCV
3.1. anti-HCV
3.2. HCV Ag/Ab
3.3. anti-HCV line assay
4. Syphilis
4.1. Syphilis antibody
4.2. Syphilis IgM antibody
4.3. Syphilis agglutination (specific test)
4.4. VDRL (carbon antigen)
4.5. Syphilis line assay
5. HTLV
5.1. anti-HTLV I/II
5.2. anti-HTLV I+II western blot
5.3. anti-HTLV line assay
6. HCMV
6.1. anti-HCMV (Total)
6.2. anti-HCMV (IgG)
6.3. anti-HCMV (IgM)
7. Trypanosoma cruzi
7.1. anti-T. cruzi
8. Plasmodium falciparum/ vivax
8.1. anti-P. falciparum/ vivax
9. HEV
9.1. anti-HEV (total)
9.2. anti-HEV (IgM)
A range of miscellaneous NHSBT and non-NHSBT activities are supported by the NTMRL where infectious disease screening/ testing support is required and it must be understood that NTMRL will change assays or include additional assays as circumstances change and different assays either become available or existing assays become more appropriate for its activities. Consequently, whilst all economic operators capable of meeting the Authority’s requirements will be awarded a framework agreement, call off against the framework agreements will be based predominantly on the supplier offering the best quality assay which meets the Authority’s needs at that particular point in time. Should an alternative assay from an economic operator which either didn’t respond to this tender exercise and/ or which was not awarded a framework agreement, be required by the Authority, that economic operator will be awarded a framework agreement, subject to the economic operator passing the PQQ and ITT requirements of the initial tender exercise and only once all economic operators originally awarded a framework agreement have been informed in advance.