Blood (journal)

Blood (journal)
Title	Blood
Discipline	Hematology
Abbreviation	Blood
Publisher	American Society of Hematology
Country	United States
Frequency	Weekly
History	1946–present
Impact	25.8
Impact-year	2024
Issn	0006-4971

Blood (journal) Blood is a peer-reviewed medical journal publishing original research, reviews, and commentary in clinical and translational hematology. Founded by leaders associated with institutions such as the American Society of Hematology, the journal has been a primary venue for work by investigators from centers including Massachusetts General Hospital, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins Hospital, and Mayo Clinic. Its editorial content has shaped practice guidelines, influenced therapeutic development at companies like Genentech and Gilead Sciences, and intersected with regulatory decisions by agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency.

History

Blood was established in the mid-20th century amid post-war growth in biomedical research at organizations like National Institutes of Health, Rockefeller University, Columbia University, University of Oxford, and Harvard Medical School. Early editors worked with contemporaries from American Red Cross, Cleveland Clinic, University of California, San Francisco, Stanford University School of Medicine, and University of Chicago to define hematology as a distinct specialty alongside developments in transfusion medicine, oncology, and immunology. Landmark expansions in scope paralleled advances at laboratories such as Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and initiatives like the Human Genome Project; later decades saw influential reports on stem cell transplantation from teams at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and gene-therapy milestones connected to groups at University of Pennsylvania and University College London.

Scope and content

The journal covers basic science and clinical medicine related to hematologic malignancies, bleeding and clotting disorders, red cell diseases, platelet biology, bone marrow failure syndromes, and transplantation. Contributors have included investigators from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Sloan Kettering Institute, Karolinska Institutet, University of Cambridge, and Imperial College London. Topics span molecular mechanisms featuring pathways studied at Broad Institute, translational studies linked to trials conducted by cooperative groups such as EORTC and SWOG, and clinical practice informed by guidelines from American Society of Clinical Oncology and professional bodies like the European Haematology Association.

Editorial board and peer review

The editorial board comprises clinicians and scientists affiliated with academic centers including Yale University, University of Michigan, University of Toronto, King's College London, and McGill University. Senior editors have previously held positions at institutions such as Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Peer review follows standards used by journals like The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, and Journal of Clinical Investigation with external reviewers drawn from networks involving National Cancer Institute, Wellcome Trust, and specialty societies including American Association for Cancer Research. Ethical oversight references policies comparable to those of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors and committees at universities such as Princeton University and Brown University.

Publication and access

Published weekly by the American Society of Hematology, the journal distributes print and electronic editions to subscribers at hospitals and libraries including New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Toronto General Hospital, and national systems like the NHS in the United Kingdom. Content is indexed for discovery by services such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and specialist platforms used by institutions like University of California libraries. Access models have evolved alongside open-access mandates from funders such as the National Institutes of Health and private foundations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, with hybrid publishing options familiar to authors from University College London and Karolinska Institutet.

Impact and indexing

The journal's influence is reflected in citation metrics tracked by Clarivate Analytics and visibility in databases including MEDLINE and Embase. High-impact articles have driven clinical practice at centers like Stanford Health Care and informed guideline panels convened by organizations such as the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The journal appears on reading lists for trainees at Massachusetts General Hospital residency programs and is frequently cited in policy reports from bodies like the European Commission.

Notable articles and contributions

Notable publications include early descriptions of hemophilia management that affected care at institutions including Great Ormond Street Hospital, landmark studies of acute promyelocytic leukemia associated with protocols from MD Anderson Cancer Center, and seminal reports on bone marrow transplantation arising from work at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. The journal has published influential gene-therapy case reports tied to investigators at University of Pennsylvania and clinical trial results that shaped approvals involving companies like Novartis and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Reviews and consensus statements appearing in the journal have impacted practice at centers such as Cleveland Clinic and regulatory deliberations at the Food and Drug Administration.

Category:Medical journals Category:Hematology