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# Author Guide

Note: the Author Guide was recently updated and expanded. Please make sure to consult it when preparing your manuscript or when looking for answers related to publication of your work in Blood.

## About Blood

### Journal scope

Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology, published in print and online, provides an international forum for the publication of original articles describing basic laboratory, translational, and clinical investigations in hematology. Acceptance of manuscripts is based on the originality and newness of the observation or investigation, the quality of the work described and validity of the evidence presented, the clarity of presentation, and the relevance to our readership. Authors submit a manuscript with the understanding that the manuscript (or its essential substance) has not been published other than as an abstract in any language or format and has not been submitted elsewhere for print or electronic publication consideration.

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### Journal facts

Publisher: The American Society of Hematology
Editor-in-Chief: Sanford J. Shattil
Editorial Board: Blood Editorial Board
Impact Factor 2005: 10.132 (see Blood Impact Factor for more details)
Frequency of publication: 24 issues per year, on the 1st and 15 of each month, plus an ASH Annual Meeting Program & Abstracts Book in November; 2 volumes/year (2006: 107 and 108; 2007: 109 and 110)
Print journal circulation: 16,100
No. of submissions/year: approx. 5,000
No. of published articles/year: 1,190 (2006)
No. of pages published/year: 9,272 (2006)
Avg Acceptance rate: 23.2%
Avg Time to first decision (all papers): 18.9 days
Avg Time to first decision (reviewed papers): 30.4 days
Avg Time from acceptance to First Edition prepublication: 7-10 days
ISSN (print journal): 0006-4971
ISSN (online journal): 1528-0020
Indexing: Blood is indexed by these major databases: Biosis, Chemical Abstracts, Current Contents/Life Sciences, Current Contents/Clinical Medicine, Excerpta Medica, ISI Science Citation Index, Index Medicus, Medline, Automatic Subject Citation Alert
Full-text HTML/PDF accesses: 3,889,680 (Jan-June 2006)
Blood home page: www.bloodjournal.org
Contact:

Blood
The American Society of Hematology
1900 M Street, NW, Suite 200
Washington DC 20036

Manuscript submissions: Blood Bench>Press
E-mail addresses:
editorial{at}hematology.org
(submission, peer review, First Edition)
production{at}hematology.org
(copyediting queries, proofs, print-quality image requirements)
bloodsubs{at}hematology.org

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### Article types

#### Regular Articles

Manuscripts submitted as Regular Articles are expected to be concise, well organized, and clearly written. Acceptance of Regular Articles is based on the originality, definitiveness, and importance of the findings to the field of hematology.

Regular Articles will be published under the following scientific categories: Chemokines, Cytokines, and Interleukins; Clinical Trials and Observations; Gene Therapy; Hematopoiesis; Hemostasis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology; Immunobiology; Neoplasia; Phagocytes; Red Cells; Stem Cells in Hematology; Transfusion Medicine; and Transplantation.

Maximum length for a Regular Article is 5,000 words of text, not counting the abstract, tables, figure legends, and references; abstracts must not exceed 200 words and should be a single paragraph with no subheadings. Submissions are limited to a total of 7 figures and digital images are strongly preferred.

#### Plenary Papers

Definitive manuscripts of exceptional scientific importance within the broad discipline of hematology will be considered for inclusion in the Plenary Papers category. The decision to highlight an article in this section rests entirely with the Editors.

#### Review Articles

Review articles are highly desired and are generally solicited by the Editor-in-Chief. A review article should focus on a topic of broad scientific interest, on recent advances in diagnosis and therapy, or on another timely subject relevant to the field of hematology. Such articles must be concise and critical and include appropriate references to the literature. Reviews should not exceed 5,000 words in length, must include abstracts of 200 words or fewer, and must have no more than 100 references. The use of tables and color figures to summarize critical points is encouraged; the Journal offers a service to professionally draw illustrations, if requested. Review Articles are reviewed by the Editors and other expert reviewers before a final publication decision is made, and revisions may be required. See also Guidelines for Invited Reviews.

#### Review in Translational Hematology.

These critical reviews describe recent advances in basic science that are moving from the bench to the bedside.

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#### Perspectives

Perspectives on significant topics in the field of hematology are highly desired. Interested authors should correspond with the Editor-in-Chief prior to submission to discuss the suitability of the proposed subject matter. The length should not exceed 2,500 words; the abstract must not exceed 200 words; and references are limited to 50. Typically, Perspectives state the topic concisely, discuss opposing viewpoints, and make recommendations for further investigation.

#### Inside Blood

These brief capsules written by experts in the field present analyses of specific articles that are deemed particularly noteworthy. Invited by the Editors.

#### Brief Reports

Short manuscripts definitively documenting either experimental results or informative patient presentations will be considered for publication in this category. The authors are asked to document experimental results with a clear question in the introduction and then to present definitive proof in the body of the text. Keep the “Materials and Methods” section succinct, using primarily cited work, but sufficiently informative to allow reproduction of the data. Combine the “Results” and “Discussion” sections and do not repeat the introductory comments. Brief Reports should not exceed 1,200 words of text and 150 words in the abstract and should have no more than 2 figures/tables and 25 references.

#### How I Treat

Therapeutic recommendations for a specific hematological disorder written by an expert in the field.

#### Controversies in Hematology

Expert analyses of the pros and cons on a hematological subject currently in ferment.

#### Letters to the Editor

Comments on published articles or current topics in hematology are welcome and will be published if appropriate. Letters should stay in the range of 300-500 words of text with 5-10 references and 1 figure or table (if needed). Please include a brief title succinctly stating the topic of your Letter. Submission fees and page charges do not apply to Letters. Letters to the Editor are always screened, but may also be peer reviewed or subjected to a Response by the authors of the initial article.

#### Data Supplements

The Journal encourages the submission of Data Supplements, including videos and short movies, that enhance the understanding of the science discussed in the manuscript. Data Supplements must be submitted for peer review during the initial submission of the manuscript. The Editors will review the supplemental material along with the manuscript, but acceptance of the manuscript does not guarantee ultimate acceptance of the supplement. For more information, please see Data Supplements in Blood.

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### Contact information

Please contact the Blood office if you cannot find an answer to your question(s) in our online-posted materials, in this document, or in the Blood Bench>Press Manuscript Processing System.

Blood
The American Society of Hematology
1900 M Street, NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-776-0548
Fax: 202-776-0549
Manuscript Submission: Blood Bench>Press
e-mail addresses:
editorial{at}hematology.org
(submission, peer review, First Edition)
production{at}hematology.org
(copyediting queries, proofs, print-quality image requirements)
bloodsubs{at}hematology.org

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## Editorial Peer Review and Publication

### Peer review process

#### Submissions

Manuscripts submitted to Blood through the online system Blood Bench>Press are critically reviewed by the Editors, members of the Editorial Board, and/or other expert reviewers. The primary criteria for judging the acceptability of a manuscript are its novelty and scientific importance. However, editorial decisions are based not just on technical merit of work, but also on factors such as priority for publication, presentation of the material, and the relevance to the Journal’s general readership.

At the discretion of the Editors, the manuscript may be returned immediately without full review, if deemed not competitive or outside the realm of interests of the majority of the readership of the Journal. The decision letter (to reject, invite revision, or accept) will be conveyed through Blood Bench>Press, coming directly from the Associate Editor who has assumed responsibility for the manuscript’s review. All manuscripts are judged in relation to other submissions currently under consideration. Membership in the American Society of Hematology is not a prerequisite for review or publication. Rebuttals to rejected manuscripts are strongly discouraged, and requests for resubmission of rejected manuscripts are generally not granted.

Manuscripts that have passed an initial screening by the Editors are reviewed by two or more experts in the field. The Editors select the reviewers and make the final decision on the manuscript. All referees who review a manuscript remain unknown to the authors. Every manuscript is treated by the Editors and referees as privileged information, and they are instructed to exclude themselves from review of any manuscript that may involve a conflict of interest, or the appearance of such.

Detailed reviewers’ comments are forwarded to the authors. Manuscripts requiring extensive revision are at a disadvantage for publication.

Blood’s internal policies ensure the fairness of the review process. When Blood’s Editor submits his/her research paper to Blood, a Guest Editor is invited to manage the review process. The online review system is configured to ensure confidentiality and the blind nature of the review process.

#### Revised manuscripts

In many cases, authors are invited to make revisions to their manuscript. A revised manuscript must generally be received by the reviewing Associate Editor within 3 months of the date on the decision letter or it will be considered a new submission. An extension can sometimes be granted through correspondence with the Associate Editor. An extension must be requested at least 2 weeks before the 3-month revision deadline expires. A Copyright Transfer and Conflict of Interest form, signed by all authors, must also be submitted by fax with the revision. If there are any changes to the manuscript’s authorship since the original submission (such as an addition or deletion of an author, or a change in the order of authorship), the Change of authorship form must be signed by all authors and faxed to the Editorial office to 202-776-0549. Both forms can be found in this document, under Forms and Checklists.

When preparing your manuscript for submission, please make sure that all revisions stand out in the text and are obvious on a black and white printout (e.g., you may use different font size, color or underline). See also Checklist for Revised Manuscripts for more information.

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### Manuscript preparation

Before submitting your manuscript online at Blood Bench>Press, please read and follow the guidelines below; they will be of help when preparing and formatting your Word or RTF file.

Please note that the Blood Journal adheres to the criteria of the International Committee of Medical Journal editors, which has established Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals.

#### Manuscript length

For regular articles, maximum length is 5,000 words of text, not counting abstracts, tables, figure legends, and references, and submissions are limited to a total of 7 figures. Abstracts must not exceed 200 words and should be a single paragraph with no subheadings. Submissions exceeding these limits will not be considered for review and will be returned to the author.

#### Word counts

All manuscripts must include on the title page a total text word count and an abstract word count. Only under exceptional circumstances will manuscripts containing more than 5,000 words be considered, but under no circumstances will abstracts longer than 200 words be published. (The limits for Brief Reports are 1,200 words of text and 150 words in abstracts.)

#### Editing services for non-English speakers

For the non-English speaking authors, an editing service may help improve the presentation of the paper. Here are some names of companies specializing in such services. Please note that Blood does not endorse nor has it any direct involvement with any of the services listed; this information is provided solely for the convenience of the Blood authors.
www.biosciencewriters.com
www.bostonbioedit.com
www.prof-editing.com
www.journalexperts.com

#### Manuscript organization

Organize the content of your manuscript file as follows: Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgments, References, Tables, Figure Legends, and Figures. For Brief Reports, Results and Discussion must be combined.

#### Title page

Title page must contain the following: article title; short title for the running head (not to exceed 50 characters, including spaces between words); full and accurate names of all authors (as you want them to appear in online searches and citations); affiliations of institutions where the research was done, reflecting the order of authorship by using superscripted numbers; corresponding author’s full name, address, e-mail address, and phone and fax numbers; word counts for text and abstract.

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You must also include on the title page an appropriate scientific category chosen from among the following: Chemokines; Clinical Observations, Interventions, and Therapeutic Trials; Gene Therapy; Hematopoiesis; Hemostasis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology; Immunobiology; Neoplasia; Phagocytes; Red Cells; Transfusion Medicine; and Transplantation. Please note that Brief Reports must also list a scientific category on the title page.

#### Abstract

The abstract should contain 200 words or fewer (150 words or fewer for Brief Reports) and state the rationale/hypothesis, objectives, findings, and conclusions of the study.

#### Acknowledgments

Acknowledge support received from individuals. Any grant and other financial support should also be listed here as well as the explanation of authors’ contributions and potential conflict of interest disclosure statement. If the authors declare no competing financial interests, they must state it here as well.

#### References

Include references in numerical order at the end of the article according to the order of the citation in the text. Text citations of reference should consist of superscript numbers. Format references per instructions at the Blood Style Guide. If you use citation software, check it carefully to ensure that it formats your references according to the current Blood style.

Authors can now have Medline links in their HTML references for citations that have only been published via prepublication in Blood First Edition or in other prepublished articles. Since prepublished articles have PubMed records and a PubMed ID (PMID) is listed at the bottom of every PubMed record as the citation identifier, an author can include the PMID within their manuscript references to link the prepublication citation to its PubMed record.

#### Footnotes and abbreviations

Do not use footnotes; instead, use sparingly parenthetical statements within text. Abbreviations should be defined at first mention and thereafter applied consistently throughout the article. Do not use nonstandard abbreviations or abbreviate terms appearing fewer than 3 times. Give the chemical name of a compound after the first use of the common name. The common name may be used throughout the article. Abbreviate units of measure only when used with numbers. See the Blood Style Guide for more information.

#### Tables

Each table should have a brief, specific, descriptive title, giving sufficient explanation to make the data intelligible without reference to the text. Number all tables and cite in numerical order in the text, using Arabic numerals.

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#### Image acquisition and preparation

(This set of instructions is adapted with permission from the Journal of Cell Biology instructions to authors.) The following information must be provided about the acquisition and processing of images:

1. Make and model of microscope
2. Type, magnification, and numerical aperture of the objective lenses
3. Temperature
4. Imaging medium
5. Fluorochromes
6. Camera make and model
7. Acquisition software
8. Any subsequent software used for image processing, with details about types of operations involved (e.g., type of deconvolution, 3D reconstructions, surface or volume rendering, gamma adjustments, etc.).

Please note that the technical requirements for manuscript review and the First Edition prepublication are different from the print requirements and do NOT require high-resolution images. Follow the online uploading instructions during submission and prepublication. To prepare print-quality figures, see Figure preparation and sizing for the final print publication.

#### Working with gels and micrographs

Note that no specific feature within an image may be enhanced, obscured, moved, removed, or introduced. If groupings of images from different parts of the same gel or from different gels, fields, or exposures are used, they must be made explicit by the arrangement of the figure (i.e., by inserting black dividing lines) and in the text of the figure legend, explaining what steps were taken to produce the final image and for what reason. If dividing lines are not included, they will be added by Blood staff, resulting in publication delays. Adjustments of brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable if they are applied to the whole image and as long as they do not obscure, eliminate, or misrepresent any information present in the original, including backgrounds. Without background information, it is not possible to evaluate how much of the original gel is actually shown. Nonlinear adjustments (e.g., changes to gamma settings) must be disclosed in the figure legend. The use of special software tools (e.g., erasing, cloning) available in popular image-editing software is strongly discouraged unless absolutely necessary and explained in the figure legend.

Digital images in manuscripts accepted for publication will be scrutinized for any indication of improper manipulation or editing. Questions raised by Blood staff will be referred to the Editors, who may then request the original data from the authors for comparison with the submitted figures. Such manuscripts will be put on hold and will not be prepublished in Blood First Edition until the matter is satisfactorily resolved. If the original data cannot be produced, the acceptance of the manuscript may be revoked.

Cases of deliberate misrepresentation of data will result in revocation of acceptance and will be reported to the corresponding author’s home institution or funding agency.

#### Figure legends

All legends must begin with a short descriptive sentence that sums up the intent and content of the data contained in the figure. This sentence should be in boldface. A more detailed explanation of the data contained in the figure and/or its parts should follow. The detailed description should be in Roman type (i.e., not in boldface).

#### Display of sequences

Prepare sequences as figures (images), not tables. This will ensure that proper alignment within a sequence is preserved.

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### Manuscript submission

All manuscripts must be submitted online through Blood Bench>Press.

#### Your account in Blood Bench>Press

If you have not interacted with this website before, you must register a new user account using your primary and desired e-mail address. That, along with your designated password, will be your entry into the site at all times, so please make sure that your password is easily available to you. If you had a user account on a previous Blood website but have not accessed BloodBench>Press, you will not have an existing user account on the site.

The Bench>Press system is used by many other journals. If you are registered with another journal on Bench>Press, you must contact the Blood editorial office with the e-mail address with which you are registered to that other site. The staff will then help you add Blood to the list of Bench>Press journals to which you are registered. Please note that the same e-mail address and password will apply for all journal Bench>Press sites, including Blood’s.

#### Submission

Before submitting your manuscript online, please note that you should have on hand the following information:

1. Author contact information and individual contributions to authorship
2. Abstract and manuscript files
3. Word counts of abstract and text and a reference count
4. Manuscript number(s) if this manuscript was previously submitted, if this is a revision, or if this submission is part of a companion group.
5. Cover letter to the Editor-in-Chief.
6. e-mail addresses of suggested reviewers.
7. If this is a revision, you will also need to submit a response to reviewers and you will need to fax the Copyright Transfer and Conflict of Interest form signed by all authors.

Blood Bench>Press, the web-based manuscript processing system, provides an easy-to-follow set of instructions and Help notes (follow a "?" next to each new step) that will guide you through the process. You may find a main Help site and a set of FAQs at the top of each page within the site. The e-mail correspondence you will receive may provide confirmation of the steps performed, provide instructions for the next step in the process, and/or ask for specific changes that may be required. Mac users are encouraged to use Safari or Firefox instead of Internet Explorer to access the manuscript processing system.

Note that the submission process needs to be successfully completed before the peer review can begin; a successful online submission is acknowledged by an e-mail to the corresponding author. In it, the corresponding author will receive the manuscript number, which needs to be cited in all correspondence, both within and outside Blood Bench>Press. Please note that you will have 30 days to finish a partial (incomplete) submission of your manuscript. After 30 days, however, all partial submissions are automatically deleted from the system.

For additional questions regarding the submission process, please contact the editorial{at}hematology.org
.

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## Editorial Policies for Authors

### Authorship criteria and contribution

Blood has refined its definition of authorship and made the authorship contribution statement mandatory as of May 1, 2006. All authors listed in a manuscript submitted to Blood must have contributed substantially to the work, as defined in more detail below. The corresponding author takes responsibility for obtaining permission from all coauthors for the submission of any version of the manuscript and for any changes in authorship. When submitting the manuscript, the corresponding author must indicate, on the online submission website and in a note under the Acknowledgments section, the specific contribution of each author.

All collaborators share some degree of responsibility for any manuscript they coauthor. Some coauthors have responsibility for the entire manuscript as an accurate, verifiable report of the research. These include coauthors who are accountable for the conception or execution of the research reported in the paper, the integrity and analysis of the data, or the writing of the manuscript. Coauthors who make specific, limited contributions to a paper are responsible for their contributions but may have only limited responsibility for other results. While not all coauthors may be familiar with all aspects of the research presented in their manuscript, all coauthors should have in place an appropriate process for reviewing the accuracy of the reported results.

Authors are required to indicate their specific contributions to the published work. This information will be published in the First Edition as well as in the final print and online Blood issue in the Authorship section. Examples of designations include: designed research, performed research, contributed vital new reagents or analytical tools, collected data, analyzed and interpreted data, performed statistical analysis, and drafted the manuscript.

An author may list more than one type of contribution, and more than one author may have contributed to the same aspect of the work.

If a study group is involved in a manuscript, those members who meet criteria for authorship should be listed individually on the byline; the number of individual authors may range from 3 to 25. Study group members who do not meet authorship criteria but who contributed materially may be cited in the Acknowledgments section, and if the manuscript is accepted all study group members will need to be listed as an online supplement.

For more information on this topic, see the Authorship section in the CSE’s White Paper on Promoting Integrity in Scientific Journal Publications.

### Copyright assignment

All material published in Blood represents the opinions of the authors and does not reflect the opinions of The American Society of Hematology, the Editors, or the institutions with which the authors are affiliated.

Authors submitting manuscripts to Blood do so with the understanding that -- if their manuscript is accepted -- the copyright in the article, including the right to reproduce the article in all forms and media, shall be assigned exclusively to The American Society of Hematology and that the corresponding author and all coauthors will be required to sign and submit a Copyright Transfer and Conflict of Interest form at the time of submission of the revised manuscript. Blood allows authors to retain a number of nonexclusive rights to their published article (see Copyright Transfer and Conflict of Interest form for details).

The work of the authors who are US Federal Government employees is not protected by the Copyright Act, and copyright ownership will not be transferred in these cases.

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### Conflict of interest disclosure

American Society of Hematology (ASH), the Publisher of Blood, and the Blood Journal are committed to ensuring the integrity of all their activities. The Conflict of Interest Disclosure policy for Blood contributors requires each author to disclose all relevant financial and other interests, regardless of amount or value, that might be construed as resulting in an actual, potential, or apparent conflict in one’s role as contributor to Blood.

At the time of online submission of their manuscript to Blood, the authors are required to disclose any potential financial conflict of interest, which may include one or more of the following: employment; consultancy within the past two years; ownership interests (including stock options) in a start-up company, the stock of which is not publicly traded; ownership interest (including stock options but excluding indirect investments through mutual funds and the like) in a publicly traded company; research funding; honoraria directly received from an entity; paid expert testimony within the past two years; any other financial relationship (e.g., receiving royalties); membership on another entity’s Board of Directors or its advisory committees (whether for profit or not for profit).

Please note: It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to review this policy with all authors and to collectively list ALL pertinent commercial relationships.

During the peer review process the conflict(s) of interests will only be disclosed to editors and reviewers who will keep them confidential.

If the paper is accepted for publication in Blood, all disclosures will appear in the prepublished article and in the final print and online edition of the article, under the acknowledgment section.

If the authors have no conflict of interest to declare, they must also state this at submission. If the paper is accepted for publication in Blood, the statement of no conflict of interest will appear in the prepublished article and in the final print and online edition of the article, under the acknowledgment section.

With their Revised manuscript, the authors will be asked to fill out the Copyright Transfer and Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form for Authors and Contributors to Blood. This form must be signed by ALL authors, and the manuscript will not be processed until the Blood Editorial Office receives the signed form.

It is important to note that this policy and the disclosure statements shall not be regarded as creating a presumption of impropriety in the existence of financial interests or other relationships of a commercial nature. Instead, Blood’s purpose is to inform its editors, peer reviewers, and readers of the existence of financial relationships pertinent to the article in the interest of the full transparency of the peer review and publication processes.

To read the ASH Conflict of Interest policy, click here.

How to interpret this policy:

For submitted manuscripts that contain information about commercial products or potential products, Blood requires that the authors declare all relevant financial interests in the product, or in potentially competing products. Relationships that must be disclosed include investors in and consultants to the involved commercial venture as well as persons holding patents relating to the product or potentially competing products. Blood also requires that authors employed by companies whose commercial products are discussed in a submitted manuscript disclose the fact of their employment.

The conflict of interest disclosure may include one or more of the following:

- One (several) of the authors (authors’ initials) has (have) declared a financial interest in a company whose (potential) product was studied in the present work.
- One (several) of the authors (authors’ initials) is (are) employed by a company or a competitor of a company (X company) whose (potential) product was studied in the present work.
- One (several) of the authors (authors’ initials) holds (hold) a patent related to the work that is described in the present study.
- One (several) of the authors (authors’ initials) provided paid expert testimony related to the work that is described in the present study.
- One (several) of the authors (authors’ initials) received royalties related to the work that is described in the present study.

### Funding and sponsorship

For work involving a biomedical product or potential product partially or wholly supported by corporate funding, a note, placed in the “Acknowledgments” section, must accompany the manuscript stating: This study was supported (in part) by research funding from (company name) to (authors’ initials).

Grant support, if received, needs to be stated and the specific granting institution(s) name(s) and grant numbers provided when applicable.

### Duplicate or prior publication

The Blood Journal accepts only manuscripts that are original work, no part of which has been submitted for publication elsewhere except as brief abstracts. Authors should take care to exclude overlap and duplication in manuscripts dealing with related materials. Copies of existing manuscripts with potentially overlapping or duplicative material should be submitted together with the manuscript, so that the Editors can judge suitability for publication. See also Redundant or Duplicate Publication in Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals and Definition of Research Misconduct in the CSE’s White Paper on Promoting Integrity in Scientific Journal Publications.

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### Ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects

All studies that involve human subjects must abide by the rules of the appropriate Institutional Review Board (or equivalent organization in foreign countries) of the institution in which the research was conducted and by the tenants of the (most recently revised) Helsinki protocol.

### Informed consent for patients

Published studies that involve human subjects should not provide subjects’ identifying information (e.g., names, true initials, recognizable images) unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent/guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. If your study requires the appropriate written consent, please submit a patient-signed copy of the consent to the Editorial Office by fax at 202-776-0549 or via overnight mail to 1900 M Street, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20036. See the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals for further information.

### Data sharing, distribution of reagents, and compound structure disclosure

#### Data sharing

Blood supports the efforts of the National Academy of Sciences to encourage the open sharing of publication-related data. Blood adheres to the belief that authors should include in their publications the data, algorithms, or other information that is central or integral to the publication or make it freely and readily accessible; use public repositories for data whenever possible; and make patented material available under a license for research use. For more information, see the NAS website.

#### Distribution of reagents

In 1998, the Editors of Blood adopted the policy that any readily renewable resources mentioned in a Journal article not already obtained from commercial resources shall be made available to all qualified investigators in the field. The policy stems from the long-standing scientific principle that authenticity requires reproducibility. Publication in Blood constitutes a de facto acceptance of this policy. Included are reagents that can be easily provided; specifically, nucleic acid sequences, cDNA and genomic clones, cell lines, and monoclonal antibody clones. Small amounts (sufficient for the replication of any in vitro work reported) of novel protein reagents are also considered transferable.

Although the Editors appreciate that many of the reagents mentioned in Blood are proprietary or unique, neither condition is considered adequate grounds for deviation from this policy. Suitable material-transfer agreements can be drawn up between the provider and the requester, but if a reasonable request is turned down and not submitted to the Editor-in-Chief, the corresponding author will be held accountable. The consequence for noncompliance is simple: the corresponding author will not publish in Blood for the following 3 years.

#### Disclosure of compound structure

Authors must provide the specific chemical structure(s) of synthetic compounds either in the manuscript or through a web link to a publicly available source. For natural products, the chemical structure must be similarly provided if it is known. If it is not known, adequate information on the source and composition must be provided to identify the compound uniquely.

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### Deposition into public databases

#### Submission of sequences to GenBank

Original DNA sequences reported in Blood must also be submitted to GenBank. Instructions for submission can be found at GenBank. An accession number must be supplied parenthetically at a relevant location in text.

#### Microarray databases

Blood supports the efforts of the Microarray Gene Expression Data Society to standardize the presentation of microarray data. In compliance with the MGED Society’s Minimum Information About a Microarray Experiment (MIAME), the journal requires that authors deposit their microarray data into a public database, such as Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) or Array Express. Authors should also include their microarray data as a supplement with the initial submission of the manuscript (see Data Supplements). An accession number must be supplied parenthetically at a relevant location in text.

### Guidelines for stem cell research

Research with embryonic stem cells should adhere to the guidelines established by the National Academy of Sciences, as published in the National Academy Press.

### Clinical trial registry

In accordance with the guidelines published by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the recent changes to the policy published in an ICMJE Editorial in June 2007 (http://www.icmje.org/clin_trial07.pdf), Blood requires, as a condition of consideration for publication, that all clinical trials be registered in one of five ICMJE-approved public trials registries (i.e., ClinicalTrials.gov, www.actr.org.au, www.ISRCTN.org, www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index/htm, or www.trialregister.nl). Trials must be registered at or before the onset of patient enrollment.

In addition to accepting registration in any of the above five registries, the ICMJE and Blood will accept registration of clinical trials in any of the primary registers that participate in the WHO International Clinical Trial Registry Platform (ICTRP). Registration in a partner register only is insufficient.

The ICMJE and Blood will begin to implement the WHO definition of clinical trials for all trials that begin enrollment on or after 1 July 2008. This definition states that a clinical trial is “any research study that prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes.”

Following ICMJE, Blood will not consider results posted in the same clinical trials registry in which the primary registration resides to be previous publication if the results are presented in the form of a brief, structured (<500 words) abstract or table.

For more information, see ICMJE Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals.

### Policy regarding NIH-sponsored authors

Blood and the American Society of Hematology (ASH) signed an agreement with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that creates a new option to comply with the NIH policy on enhanced access. This new program will remove the current burden for authors to submit their manuscripts to PubMed Central. ASH has volunteered Blood to be the first participant in this program and has signed the one-year agreement with NIH. As a result of ASH’s participation in this program, all Blood authors who published NIH-funded articles from May, 2005, forward have no obligation to submit manuscripts to the NIH archive because Blood will do this on their behalf.

### Embargo policy

Blood manuscripts that are accepted and prepublished in Blood First Edition are considered to be formally published on the date of the article’s appearance on the Blood First Edition website. The site organizes prepublished articles by posting date.

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## Accepted Manuscripts

### Prepublication in First Edition

All original research manuscripts accepted through Blood Bench>Press and submitted for Blood First Edition by the author are prepublished online twice-weekly in unedited form (author’s PDF). Please note that Controversies in Hematology, Letters to the Editor, Inside Blood comments, Editorials, and Introductions to specially featured articles are not prepublished as First Edition articles. First Edition articles are searchable in Medline, Google Scholar, Yahoo, and other search engines; they are citable and establish publication priority.

Prior to submitting for First Edition prepublication, the submitting author must carefully review the entire manuscript file, paying particular attention to list full and accurate names of all authors; include accurate institutional affiliations for each author; and include all figures, legends, and tables within the uploaded document. Note that figures do NOT need to be high-resolution and may be embedded in the text itself or at the end of the manuscript. Please follow the specific instructions that come with the acceptance letter.

An article prepublished in First Edition subsequently undergoes the standard production process, which includes copyediting, composition, and proofreading. The edited article is then published in its final form in the first available print and online issue of Blood (see Requirements for Print for further information). Accepted Data Supplements are also prepublished with the First Edition version of the article; they need to be separately uploaded by following the online instructions.

### Requirements for print

#### Manuscript file format

A Microsoft Word (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf) file of your accepted manuscript is required to allow the manuscript to be copyedited and composed. You will be requested to upload the accepted text document during the submission to First Edition. Please note that publication of your article will be put on hold until you upload a Word or RTF document. You must make sure that the document you submit is the same as the one accepted. There cannot be ANY content changes from the final accepted version; however, you should remove any highlighted or red-lined text that may have been inserted to indicate revisions to the original submission.

#### Figure preparation and sizing for the final print publication

Detailed instructions for submitting digital artwork can be found at Digital artwork for production in Blood.

Blood accepts digital TIFF and EPS images for print. If necessary, Blood will also accept Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt) files, although we cannot guarantee the same quality from them as we do from TIFF or EPS files.

All digital print-quality images need to pass an inspection program, Rapid Inspector, to ensure their suitability for print. You can freely download the Rapid Inspector software. To deposit your print-ready image files, you may either upload them alongside your First Edition document or access the Blood FTP site. Specific instructions are sent in the acceptance letter.

For print publication, lay out figures as compactly as is consistent with conveying the relevant data. Figures will be sized to fit the smallest possible space, but in order to prevent radical changes in figure content, prepare the figures in one of two sizes: 8.0 cm (1-column width) or, if necessary, 11.5 cm (1½ column width). Note that these instructions do NOT apply to figures submitted for online review and prepublication.

#### Cover illustrations

Cover illustrations are chosen by the Editor-in-Chief. Authors who submit a manuscript are encouraged to include a color image they consider suitable for the cover of Blood (the author must own copyright to the image). The image must be sharp enough to allow magnification to the full size of the 6½ x 11 in. image area. Add a brief caption explaining the content of the figure. Cover illustrations are published without charge to the author, but authors pay for any color figures printed within their article. Authors will be notified by e-mail if their illustration has been selected for the cover.

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### Proofreading

Authors of accepted manuscripts will receive electronic page proofs directly from the printer and are responsible for proofreading and checking the entire article, including tables, figures, and references. Authors should correct only typesetting errors at this stage and may be charged for extensive alterations. Page proofs must be returned within 48 hours to avoid delays in publication. Follow instructions that come with your electronic proofs.

### Publication fees

Please note that the submission fee applies to manuscripts submitted for peer review in Blood; the page charges and the color charges apply only to the manuscripts accepted for publication in Blood.

#### Manuscript submission fee

A nonrefundable fee of $50 is due on submission of Regular Articles and Brief Reports. There is no submission fee for Review Articles, Perspectives, Introduction to Focus on Hematology, Inside Blood, or for Letters to the Editor. If a fee is required, you will be asked to pay it online at the time of submission, using a credit card. Please note that purchase orders and bank wire transfers cannot be accepted for the processing fee.

#### Page charges

Authors of Regular Articles, Plenary Papers, and Brief Reports are required to pay page charges to share in the high costs of publication. The page charge is $60 per printed page. Page charges are waived for any type of Review Article, Perspective, How I Treat, Introduction, or Letters to the Editor.

#### Color charges

The cost of printing images in color is in part shared with the Blood authors. Color charges are assessed for authors who submit a color image with a Regular Article, Plenary Paper, Brief Report, and a Letter to the Editor. Color charges are waived for all Review Articles, Perspective, How I Treat, and Introduction.

Charges to the author are currently assessed at $600 per color figure, even if the figure has multiple panels (A, B, C, etc.). You must decide at submission whether you agree to pay for color in any, or all, of your figures. Please note, however, that the reviewing Editor may decide that, for a given figure, color is essential for scientific clarity. In such case, the figure will be printed in color, and the color charges will be assessed. If the color is not essential, the alternative is to convert all or some of the figures to black-and-white at the revision stage, before providing glossy originals for production.

Page and color charges are expected to be paid with an invoice from Cadmus Professional Communications sent to the corresponding author at the proof stage.

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### Reprint requests

At the request of Blood, the reprint fees (as well as page and color charges) are being handled by Cadmus Professional Communications at the page proof stage. Authors receive with their proof a form for Reprints and Publication Fees, which must be used for ordering reprints and for paying page charges and color charges.

#### Reprint prices

A reprint price list is provided on the Reprint Order Form. Reprints must be ordered at the time the page proofs are reviewed. Late orders, especially of Reprints with color images, will cost much more.

#### Payment options for reprints and publication fees

It is recommended that international authors pay by credit card (VISA or MasterCard); if they use a check, it must be drawn from a US bank and made out in US dollars. Domestic (US) authors may use a credit card or pay by check; they will also have the option to present an Institutional Purchase Order. Make the check out to Cadmus Professional Communications. The form for Reprints and Publication fees must be returned to the following address:

Cadmus Professional Communications
Reprints and Publication Fees
PO Box 751903
Charlotte, NC 28275-1903

### Guidelines for Invited Reviews

In the past, Blood published timely review articles on a wide range of subjects related to clinical and basic aspects of hematology. In general, the reviews have been authoritative works on subjects that often encompassed a substantial body of work or a wide range of clinical issues. Although such works can be invaluable for the research and clinical communities, we no longer feel it appropriate to publish this type of all-encompassing reviews because of increasing demands on Journal space for articles focusing on primary data and because more concise, interpretive reviews may be more useful for our readership.

Currently published and solicited reviews are based on specific topics related to hematology or oncology that can be discussed within a maximum of 5,000 words and with no more than 100 references. Each Review Article must contain an abstract of 200 words or fewer.

A review should focus on a topic of broad scientific interest, on recent advances in diagnosis or therapy, or on another timely subject relevant to hematology. For clinical topics, such reviews should focus on what’s new; the use of a new drug to treat a hematological malignancy does not require a discussion on how one diagnoses the disorder, and a research review on a cytokine does not need to include how the protein was first discovered or the strategy used to clone its cDNA, if this was previously reported in a suitable format. This is especially true when the same subject was reviewed in Blood in recent years; in this case, only information obtained since the publication of the previous review should be considered.

References should not be all inclusive; citing only the first or at most the first two articles that make a specific point will suffice without listing all of the articles that appear in a Medline search of the topic.

For the more research-oriented topics, we ask our authors to make the extra effort of linking our better understanding of the basic science of hematology and oncology with issues in clinical medicine. And remember, "a picture is worth a thousand words." Please illustrate your work with informative figures and/or diagrams. Color is encouraged when it enhances the points to be made. Contact the production{at}hematology.org
if you would like your figures to be drawn by a professional science illustrator.

It is hoped that this approach will help the expert reader identify what is truly new in the field and will allow the uninitiated to grasp the issues confronting and exciting those who work in the field of hematology.

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Copyright © 2008 by American Society of Hematology Online ISSN: 1528-0020