The biggest Open Tender in the history of the GOCC

We want to beat sepsis! The Grand Finale for all – the little and the big ones – was the slogan of the past 31st Grand Finale. The main objective of the fundraiser was to collect money for purchasing state-of-the-art medical equipment allowing for a fast sepsis diagnosis. A quick diagnosis is crucial for implementing effective, targeted treatment. Let’s remember that time is of great importance here. The patient may experience multiple organ system failures, shock, and even death within a few hours. Research shows that any delay in diagnosing sepsis and administering an effective antibiotic with a one-hour delay increases the risk of death by 8 per cent.

Why do we fight against sepsis?

When we first announced the main objective of the 31st Grand Finale “We want to beat spesis”, we planned to equip 80 medical facilities with PLN 100,000,000 worth of devices. Today, after such a  wonderful Grand Finale fundraiser, it’s become clear that we may extend our support to twice as many medical units, pledging over PLN 200,000,000 for purchasing the necessary equipment. This plan is based on the results of the survey we ran at the hospitals. Our Open Tender is no longer about buying a single device, but about purchasing a full set of equipment for microbiology labs and, hence, ensure the effective fight against sepsis. — Jurek Owsiak, the chairman of the board of the GOCC Foundation

On 22 May – nearly 4 months after the January fundraiser and 2 months after revealing the final result of the collection – the GOCC Foundation commences the 66th Open Tender to buy medical equipment facilitating the fight against sepsis. The negotiations with medical companies will take a few days before we complete all the purchases for 169 laboratories across the country. The stakes are high! We need to administer as much as PLN 200,000,000! It will be the biggest Open Tender in the history of the Great Orchestra.

The Orchestra plans to purchase:

• automatic blood culture system - 39 units
• equipment for automatic biochemical identification and drug-susceptibility testing of microorganisms - 29 units
• equipment for the identification of micro-organisms by Maldi TOF mass spectrometry systems for automated antimicrobial susceptibility testing - 104 units.
• equipment for the identification of micro-organisms by Maldi TOF mass spectrometry systems for automated antimicrobial susceptibility testing - 16 units
• multiplex PCR-type molecular diagnostic tool for the identification of micro-organisms including determination of drug resistance - 76 units
• automated system for quantitative antimicrobial susceptibility testing (MIC) - 44 units
• a device for determining drug susceptibility (and possibly identification) directly from a positive blood sample - 69 units.
• automated culture system for microbiological samples - 8 units
• System for the rapid identification of outbreaks caused by multidrug-resistant strains - 11 units
• laminar flow cabinets for laboratories - 81 units

During the 31st Grand Finale, the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation has raised a total of PLN 243,259,389.25 (EUR 52,028,528.98 according to the exchange rate of 31 March 2023) i.e.  nearly PLN 19 million higher than last year and almost PLN 89 million higher than the preliminary result of the day of the fundraiser.