Submissions

Author Guidelines

Submission Guidelines

Journal of Blood and Biotherapy

1. About the Journal

Journal of Blood and Biotherapy publishes high-quality, peer-reviewed research to advance scientific discovery and clinical innovation in hematology, transfusion medicine, and biotherapy. The journal welcomes submissions covering blood banking, transfusion practice, cellular therapy, and gene therapy.

Authors are invited to make a submission to this journal. All submissions will be assessed by an editor to determine whether they meet the aims and scope of this journal. Those considered to be a good fit will be sent for peer review before determining whether they will be accepted or rejected.

Before making a submission, authors are responsible for obtaining permission to publish any material included with the submission, such as photos, documents and datasets. All authors identified on the submission must consent to be identified as an author. Where appropriate, research should be approved by an appropriate ethics committee in accordance with the legal requirements of the study's country.

An editor may desk reject a submission if it does not meet minimum standards of quality. Before submitting, please ensure that the study design and research argument are structured and articulated properly. The title should be concise and the abstract should be able to stand on its own. This will increase the likelihood of reviewers agreeing to review the paper. When you're satisfied that your submission meets this standard, please follow the checklist below to prepare your submission.

Publication decisions are based solely on scientific merit. All submissions are evaluated equally, regardless of whether authors are members or non-members of the International Association of Asia-Pacific Blood Types and Genomics (IAABG).

Publication Ethics & Exclusive Submission

Manuscripts must be submitted exclusively to Journal of Blood and Biotherapy.
No substantial portion of the manuscript may have been published or submitted elsewhere.
Short abstracts (≤ 500 words) from scientific meetings are exempted from this rule.

2. Manuscript Types Accepted

Original Research Article
Review Article
Case Report
Short Communication
Research Highlight
Book Review
Editorial
Letter to the Editor

3. General Submission Instructions

Online Submission Portal

All manuscripts must be submitted online via:

https://www.jofbbt.com/jofbbt/submission

After acceptance, the corresponding author will be notified by email to complete the license agreement in Author Services on behalf of all authors.

File Format

Submit the full manuscript as a single Word document (.doc or .docx), double-spaced.
Include in this file:
1. Title Page
2. Abstract and Keywords
3. Main Text
4. Acknowledgments
5. References
6. Tables
7. Appendices
Figures must be uploaded as separate files (not embedded in the document).
Number tables and figures consecutively (Table 1, Table 2; Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.).
Do NOT place captions on figures. Figure legends must appear on a separate page at the end of the main document.
Number tables and retain captions. Place tables at the end of the main text.

4. Title Page Requirements

The Title Page is mandatory and incomplete title pages will be returned. It must include:

A concise, informative title without abbreviations, brand names, or registered trademarks.
A running title of ≤ 40 characters (including spaces), labeled clearly.
Full author names (no degrees, titles, or positions). Institutional affiliations indicated by superscripts with location.
Full contact details of the corresponding author: name, email, telephone number.
Sources of support: grants, equipment, or drugs.
Confirmation of double-spacing (2.0) and total word count.
Number of figures, tables, and references.

Note: Brand names and registered trademarks are not permitted anywhere in the manuscript.

5. Manuscript Review & Publication Process

All manuscripts undergo editorial and stylistic editing.
Page proofs and query sheets will be sent to authors. Only essential data corrections are allowed.
Return proofs and completed query sheets within 24 hours by email or fax to avoid publication delays.
Manuscripts are generally published in the order they are accepted.
The peer-review process takes approximately six weeks. Most manuscripts require revision before final acceptance.

Correspondence

Editorial Office

Contact: Charles

Blood Transfusion Institute

Phone: +86-510-86990653

Email: office@jofbbt.com

6. Specific Requirements by Manuscript Type

6.1 Original Research

Word count: ≤ 3,500 words (excluding Abstract, References, Figure Legends)
Sections must appear on separate pages: Title Page, Abstract, Main Text, Acknowledgments, References, Tables, Figures, Figure Legends
Use active voice
Structure: Abstract • Introduction • Materials and Methods • Results • Discussion

Abstract	Word Limit	Figures + Tables	References
250 words	3,500	8 total	No limit

Abstract Structure (four sections)

Background: Research question
Study Design and Methods: Approach
Results: Main findings
Discussion: Implications

Introduction

State purpose and rationale clearly. Cite only relevant references. Do not include results or conclusions.

Study Design and Methods

Describe subjects, sample size, methods, equipment, reagents in sufficient detail for reproducibility.

Human/Animal Experiments: Confirm ethical approval, patient confidentiality, informed consent, and compliance with animal care guidelines.
Recombinant DNA research: Comply with NIH guidelines.
Statistics: Report methods clearly, including sample size, randomization, blinding, confidence intervals, and software used.

Results

Present logically. Cite all tables and figures in numerical order.

Discussion

Summarize key findings. Highlight novelty and importance. Relate to existing literature. Avoid overstatement.

Acknowledgments

Recognize non-author contributions (technical, financial, administrative). Written permission must be obtained for named individuals.

References

Numbered in order of citation. Superscript Arabic numerals in text. List first three authors + et al. Abstracts, unpublished data, and oral communications are not allowed as references. Authors must verify all references.

Tables

Maximum 8 combined tables + figures
Numbered, brief title, column headings with units
Footnotes use superscript letters (a, b, c…)
Permission required for copyrighted material; authors responsible for fees

Figures

Maximum 8 combined tables + figures
Preferred formats: EPS, PDF, TIFF
Line art: EPS or PDF (≥ 600 dpi)
Photographs: TIFF (300 dpi)
Photomicrographs: internal scale bars and magnification
Identifiable persons require written consent
Previously published figures require copyright permission

Figure Legends

Appear on a separate page. Explain symbols, arrows, markers, and staining methods.

6.2 Short Communication

For concise, novel preliminary findings.

Abstract	Word Limit	Figures + Tables	References
250 words	1,800	3 total	≤ 25

6.3 Case Report

Structure: Abstract • Case Presentation • Discussion • Conclusion

Abstract	Word Limit	Figures + Tables	References
250 words	1,800	3 total	≤ 25

6.4 Review Article

Abstract	Word Limit	Figures + Tables	References
250 words	4,000	8 total	No limit

6.5 Research Highlight

For focused, state-of-the-art updates.

Word count: 800–1,200 words (excluding title, headings, key ideas)
No abstract; provide 2–3 bullet-point Key Ideas
No tables; encouraged to submit 1 conceptual figure
References: ≤ 10

6.6 Letter to the Editor

Standard version

Length: 2 double-spaced pages
Tables + figures: ≤ 2
References: ≤ 5

Extended version

Word count: ≤ 4,000
Tables + figures: ≤ 8
References: No limit

7. General Formatting Rules

Abbreviations

No abbreviations in title
Define all abbreviations at first use (except standard units)
Follow standard scientific style guides

Blood Group Terminology

Red cell antigens/alleles: comply with ISBT terminology
Platelet antigens: follow Metcalfe P et al., Vox Sang. 2003;85:240–245

Units of Measurement

Use metric units (m, kg, L)
Weight may be kg or lb
Temperature: °C
Blood pressure: torr or mmHg

Blood Group Genomics

Amino acids: 3-letter code
Nucleotide changes: c.; protein changes: p. (e.g., c.574C>T, p.Arg192Trp)
New alleles require full gene/cDNA sequencing and GenBank/EMBL accession numbers
Web resources: list separately after Acknowledgments with URL and access date

8. Corrections & Retractions

Authors must notify the editorial office of errors in published articles.
Articles with fraudulent data will be retracted with a public statement explaining the reason.

9. Reference Style (Required)

Include references in numerical order at the end of the article according to the order of citation in the manuscript text. Text citations of reference should consist of superscript numbers. Format references per the instructions of the Journal of Blood and Biotherapy Style Guide. If you use citation software, check it carefully to ensure that it formats your references according to the current style. The Endnote style file (JOFBBT.ens) is provided for you to download.

Journal articles

Include the article title (capitalized sentence style and ending with a period), journal name (italicized and abbreviated according to the National Library of Medicine), year (followed by a semicolon), volume number, issue number in parentheses (followed by a colon), and inclusive page numbers (followed by a period).

Storry JR, Azouzi S. An uncommon MALady: is the AnWj puzzle complete? Blood. 2024;144(26):2688-2689.

Prepublished journal articles

Articles accepted for publication and prepublished (aka published ahead of print) should be referenced like a journal article, except that the DOI (digital object identifier) and the date of prepublication should supplant the year, volume number, and page numbers.

Hou TZ, Verma N, Wanders J, et al. Identifying functional defects in patients with immune dysregulation due to LRBA and CTLA-4 mutations [published online ahead of print 3 February 2017]. Blood. doi:10.1182/blood-2016-10-745174.

Journal articles in press

Journal articles that are in press but are not prepublished should be referenced like other journal articles, except instead of year, volume number, and page numbers, include the phrase “In press.”

Lenhoff S, Hjorth M, Holmberg E, et al. Impact on survival of high-dose therapy with autologous stem cell support in patients younger than 60 years with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma: a population-based study. Blood. In press.

Books and chapters thereof

Include the book title (capitalized title style and ending with a period), place of publication (followed by a colon), publisher (followed by a semicolon and a space), and the year of publication (followed by a period).

McGarry MP, Protheroe CA, Lee JJ. Mouse Hematology: a Laboratory Manual. Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press; 2010.

If referencing a chapter of a book, include the chapter title (capitalized sentence style and ending with a period), "In:" (followed by a space), any book editors (listed in author-list style and ending with "ed." or "eds."), the book title, the volume and/or edition if any, and the place, publisher, and year of publication, followed by a colon and the chapter’s page numbers.

Wilson ML, Weinstein MP, Reller LB. Laboratory detection of bacteremia and fungemia. In: Jorgensen JH, Pfaller MA, Carroll KC, et al, eds. Manual of Clinical Microbiology. Vol 1. 11th ed. Washington, DC: ASM Press; 2015:15-28.

Papers and abstracts of papers

When referencing a paper presented at a meeting with a published abstract, reference the published abstract. Always give an abstract number; the page number is optional.

Mueller MC, Gattermann N, Lahaye T, et al. Dynamics of BCR-ABL mRNA transcript expression in newly diagnosed CML patients treated with imatinib or interferon alpha [abstract]. Blood. 2002;100(11):365a. Abstract 1413.

Online documents

If a publication or document is available in online form only, then reference it providing author name (or any institutional author), document title, the URL, and the date on which it was accessed.

Gilmore T. NF-κB transcription factors. http://www.bu.edu/nf-kb. Accessed 10 February 2017.
World Health Organization. Guidelines and Principles for Safe Blood Transfusion Practice. Reprinted 2009. https://cdn.who.int/media/docs/default-source/blood-transfusion-safety/guidelines-and-principles-for-safe-blood-transfudion-practice.pdf. Accessed 23 March 2026.

Footnotes

Placed at the end of the manuscript
Numbered consecutively
Brief supplementary comments only; no references

Submission Preparation Checklist

All submissions must meet the following requirements.

This submission meets the requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.
This submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration.
All references have been checked for accuracy and completeness.
All tables and figures have been numbered and labeled.
Permission has been obtained to publish all photos, datasets and other material provided with this submission.

Article

Original research

Review

Case Report

Short Communication

Research Highlight

Research Highlights

Book Review

Editorial

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.