Ownership Submission
FORM 4
Check this box if no longer subject to Section 16. Form 4 or Form 5 obligations may continue. See Instruction 1(b).
UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
Rice Michael
  2. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
BIOLIFE SOLUTIONS INC [BLFS]
5. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
__X__ Director _____ 10% Owner
__X__ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
President & CEO
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
C/O BIOLIFE SOLUTIONS, INC., 3303 MONTE VILLA PARKWAY, SUITE 310
3. Date of Earliest Transaction (Month/Day/Year)
03/08/2018
(Street)

BOTHELL, WA 98021
4. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 3)
2. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 2A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 3. Transaction Code
(Instr. 8)
4. Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D)
(Instr. 3, 4 and 5)
5. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s)
(Instr. 3 and 4)
6. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 4)
7. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 4)
Code V Amount (A) or (D) Price

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Table II - Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned
(e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 3)
2. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 3. Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year) 3A. Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year) 4. Transaction Code
(Instr. 8)
5. Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D)
(Instr. 3, 4, and 5)
6. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)
7. Title and Amount of Underlying Securities
(Instr. 3 and 4)
8. Price of Derivative Security
(Instr. 5)
9. Number of Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s)
(Instr. 4)
10. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 4)
11. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 4)
Code V (A) (D) Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares
Employee Stock Option $ 1.64 03/08/2018   A   229,226     (1) 12/20/2021 Common Stock 229,226 $ 0 229,226 D  

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
 Director  10% Owner  Officer  Other
Rice Michael
C/O BIOLIFE SOLUTIONS, INC.
3303 MONTE VILLA PARKWAY, SUITE 310
BOTHELL, WA 98021
  X     President & CEO  

Signatures

 /s/ Michael Rice   03/09/2018
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 4(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) As disclosed in the registrants annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, on December 20, 2016, the reporting person was granted an option to purchase 229,226 shares of common stock. The option vests in two equal annual installments based on the registrant's satisfaction of certain performance criteria for the fiscal year ending December 2017. The performance criteria for 2017 were met, resulting in vesting of the option as follows: 114,613 shares vested on March 8, 2018 and 114,613 shares will vest on March 8, 2019. No Form 4 filing was required upon the initial grant of the option because the option was subject to vesting based on conditions that were not tied to the passage of time and continued employment and not tied directly to the market price of the registrant's common stock.

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