- Open access · CC BY 4.0
- ISSN 3070-1937
- Aims and Scope
Aims and Scope
The International Journal of Blood Transfusion publishes research on transfusion medicine, from the blood donor and the laboratory to the patient, including apheresis, cellular therapy and hematologic conditions managed with transfusion.
What the journal sets out to do
- To publish rigorous research on the collection, testing, processing, supply and clinical use of blood and blood components, and on the safety of donors and recipients.
- To report the laboratory, operational and quality-management methods on which safe transfusion depends, including immunohematology and hemovigilance.
- To report evidence that informs transfusion practice, blood-service organization and policy in every region, including settings where resources for research are limited.
- To make this research openly available, so that researchers, clinicians, laboratory scientists and blood-service managers can read and reuse it freely.
Research along the transfusion chain
IJBT publishes clinical, laboratory, operational and policy research on every step a blood component takes. The topics below are illustrative and form part of a wider field. They include, among others:
Donors
- Recruitment, retention and donor diversity
- Eligibility, screening and deferral
- Donor health, iron status and adverse reactions to donation
Components
- Collection and processing of whole blood, red cells, platelets, plasma and cryoprecipitate
- Pathogen reduction
- Storage, storage lesion and component quality
Immunohematology
- Blood group serology and genotyping; red-cell antigen and phenotype frequencies in populations
- Antibody identification and compatibility testing
- Alloimmunization and hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn
Blood services
- Inventory, demand and ordering practice
- Quality management, accreditation and regulation
- Access to safe blood, including in low-resource settings
Clinical transfusion
- Patient blood management and transfusion thresholds
- Massive transfusion, trauma, surgical and obstetric practice
- Neonatal and pediatric transfusion
Hemovigilance
- Transfusion reactions and transfusion-transmitted infections
- Errors, near misses and safety systems
- Surveillance, reporting and patient outcomes
Apheresis, cellular therapy and hematologic conditions
The journal also considers research on therapeutic and donor apheresis, on the collection, processing and clinical use of hematopoietic stem cells and other cellular products, and on hematologic conditions managed with transfusion, such as sickle cell disease, thalassemia and other hemoglobinopathies, hemolytic anemias, bleeding disorders and bone marrow failure. Research on a hematologic condition is within scope when transfusion, apheresis or cellular therapy is central to the question.
IJBT is an international journal. It considers work from local, national, regional and multi-country settings in every region of the world. A topic that is not named above is within scope when it meets the test set out under Eligibility.
Designs and approaches welcomed
IJBT considers quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods research. Study designs are reported within the article types listed below; a randomized trial, for example, is submitted as Original Research.
Observational studies
Cohort, case-control, cross-sectional and population-frequency studies, including studies that use registries and hospital transfusion records.
Intervention studies
Randomized and non-randomized trials of transfusion strategies, components, blood-conservation methods and cellular therapies.
Laboratory research
Studies of blood components, red-cell and platelet biology, storage, serology and genotyping, with validation of laboratory methods.
Quality and operations
Audits, quality-improvement studies and evaluations of blood-service, laboratory and hospital transfusion processes.
Surveillance and safety
Hemovigilance studies, reports of transfusion reactions, errors and near misses, and studies of transfusion-transmitted infection.
Evidence synthesis
Systematic reviews, meta-analyses and scoping reviews.
Modeling and economics
Statistical, simulation and health-economic models of supply, demand, risk and the effects of policies.
Qualitative and mixed methods
Interview, focus-group and survey research on donors, patients, clinicians and blood-service staff.
What makes a manuscript a fit
Manuscripts are assessed for their relevance to transfusion medicine, the soundness of their methods and whether their conclusions are proportionate to the evidence. Clinical, laboratory, operational and single-center studies are considered when they address a question about blood, its use or its safety.
Case reports
Case Reports, including short case series, are accepted when the case carries a lesson for transfusion practice, such as an unusual reaction, a rare antibody or phenotype, or a management problem with wider relevance.
Commentaries and letters
Commentaries and Letters are accepted when they make a reasoned argument, supported by evidence and cited sources, on a transfusion question or on work published in IJBT.
Computational and theoretical work
Computational, modeling and theoretical studies are considered when they address a transfusion question and report their methods, data and validation in enough detail to be evaluated.
Article types
The journal publishes the article types below. Guidance on the structure, abstract and reporting standard for each type is given in the Instructions for Authors.
- Original ResearchEmpirical clinical, laboratory, operational or policy studies, including clinical trials and quality-improvement studies.
- ReviewNarrative and educational reviews, and Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis, on a defined transfusion question.
- Short CommunicationConcise reports of a focused or preliminary finding.
- Case ReportIndividual cases or short case series with a lesson for transfusion practice.
- Technical NoteNew, adapted or validated laboratory and operational methods, and study protocols.
- Clinical Practice GuidelineGuidelines, consensus statements and best-practice recommendations, with the method used to develop them.
- CommentaryEvidence-based argument on a current transfusion issue or on published research.
- LetterBrief responses to articles published in IJBT, or short observations of relevance to transfusion.
Where a manuscript sits between types, authors choose the closest type and explain the choice in the cover letter, and the editors confirm the classification. A short case series is classified as a Case Report, a scoping review as a Review, a quality-improvement report as Original Research, a consensus statement as a Clinical Practice Guideline, and a study protocol as a Technical Note.
Scope questions
- Is my topic within scope?
- A manuscript is within scope when it addresses a question about the donation, testing, processing, supply, clinical use or safety of blood and blood components, or about apheresis, cellular therapy or a hematologic condition managed with transfusion. If you are unsure, send the title and abstract to the editorial office at info@openaccesspub.org before submitting.
- Does IJBT consider general hematology?
- It considers research on hematologic conditions when transfusion, apheresis or cellular therapy is central to the question. Hematology research that does not involve these is outside the scope of the journal.
- Does IJBT consider studies from a single center or country?
- Yes. Authors of single-setting studies explain how their findings relate to other populations or settings.
- Can I submit work that has been posted as a preprint?
- Yes. Posting a preprint is compatible with submission to IJBT. Cite the preprint and its DOI in the cover letter.
Preparing a submission
Read the Instructions for Authors and the Editorial Policies before submitting.