Blood: review time and acceptance speed

ISSN 0006-4971 · ISSN 1528-0020 · Elsevier BV · Medicine

Half of the articles Blood accepted in 2025 were accepted within 134 days of submission (n = 483); the middle half took 84–186 days.

Submission → acceptance (2025)
134 days median
middle half 84–186 · n = 483
Change since 2023
No clear change since 2023 (median 127 → 134 days; 90% CI -4 to +18 days).
Open access · fees
Hybrid · ≈$5,500

Accepted articles only · dates deposited by the publisher in PubMed · data as of Sep 15, 2026

Plan submissions to a deadline — free

How long does Blood take to accept a paper?

days0601201802402020: middle half 77–180 days1282020n=5552021: middle half 70–186 days1292021n=5212022: middle half 61–168 days1192022n=5022023: middle half 80–171 days1272023n=3922024: middle half 78–175 days1242024n=4662025: middle half 84–186 days1342025n=483
Line = median; shaded box = middle half of articles (25th–75th percentile). Year of acceptance.
Days from submission to acceptance, by year of acceptance
YearArticles (n)25th pctMedian75th pct90th pctAccepted <14 daysHave a revised date
2025483841341862552.7%0%
2024466781241752301.7%0%
2023392801271712330.0%0%
2022502611191682193.4%0%
2021521701291862431.9%0%
2020555771281802340.4%0%

Research articles vs reviews (2025)

Typen25th pctMedian75th pct
Research articles39997146197
Reviews797283118

Distribution in 2025

0–29 days: 4% (17 articles)030–59 days: 7% (35 articles)3060–89 days: 18% (87 articles)6090–119 days: 12% (59 articles)90120–149 days: 17% (83 articles)120150–179 days: 16% (77 articles)150180–209 days: 7% (33 articles)180210–239 days: 6% (28 articles)210240–269 days: 4% (21 articles)240270–299 days: 3% (16 articles)270300–329 days: 3% (14 articles)300330–359 days: 1% (6 articles)330360+ days: 1% (7 articles)360+days from submission to acceptance (30-day bins)
Show as a table
DaysArticlesShare
0–29173.5%
30–59357.2%
60–898718.0%
90–1195912.2%
120–1498317.2%
150–1797715.9%
180–209336.8%
210–239285.8%
240–269214.3%
270–299163.3%
300–329142.9%
330–35961.2%
360+71.4%

From acceptance to online publication

Not enough articles with both an acceptance date and an online publication date to measure the time to online publication.

Read these numbers carefully

  • These times describe articles the journal accepted. Rejected manuscripts never appear in public data, so they cannot tell you how long a rejection takes.
  • Dates are the ones the publisher deposited with PubMed. Some publishers record the date a revised manuscript arrived as the submission date, which makes review look faster.
  • Invited articles and special issues can move faster than regular submissions.

Open access status and publishing fees

Hybrid (subscription journal with an open-access option). Listed APC: about $5,500 (as reported by OpenAlex).

Institutions reported paying a median of about $4,931 per article (2023–2025, 13 reported payments in OpenAPC; converted from euros at yearly ECB average rates).

Many journals waive or reduce fees for authors from eligible countries or institutions with publishing agreements — check with the journal and your library.

Integrity and indexing signals

Facts from public records, shown without judgement. See the methodology for why each can be worth a closer look.

Listed in DOAJNo
Articles indexed for MEDLINE in 2025Yes
Retractions0 retracted articles among 2,733 added to PubMed in 2021–2025 (0.00 per 1,000), per the Retraction Watch Database.
Accepted within 14 days of submission2.7% of 2025 articles
Publication volume593 articles added to PubMed in 2025 (+8% vs 2024).

Topics and scope

Medicine journalsHematology journals

Similar journals — faster or cheaper, side by side

Journals publishing on the most similar topics (OpenAlex), ordered by similarity. Only 2025 figures are compared with the 2025 median of Blood, 134 days.

Paid APC medianDOAJMEDLINE
Blood Advances101 (2025, n = 721)$4,000$3,384 (51 payments)YesYes
European Journal Of Haematology61 (2025, n = 155)≈$4,650NoYes
HemaSphere114 (2025, n = 149)$2,880$1,267 (15 payments)YesNo
International Journal of Hematology105 (2025, n = 213)≈$4,390NoYes
eJHaem82 (2025, n = 207)$3,150$1,499 (6 payments)YesNo
British Journal of Haematology101 (2025, n = 522)≈$5,190NoYes
Therapeutic Advances in Hematology164 (2025, n = 72)$2,650YesNo
Blood Research74 (2025, n = 55)$2,290YesNo
Annals of Hematology101 (2025, n = 567)$4,590YesYes

Frequently asked questions

How long does Blood take to accept a paper?

Half of the articles Blood accepted in 2025 were accepted within 134 days of submission (n = 483); the middle half took 84–186 days. Based on dates in PubMed for accepted articles only.

Does Blood charge an article processing charge (APC)?

Listed APC: about $5,500 (as reported by OpenAlex).

Sources and method

Journal identity: ISSN-L 0006-4971; NLM ID 7603509; OpenAlex record. Speed figures use 483 articles accepted in 2025 with valid dates; excluded records for that year: none.

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Data sources. Submission, acceptance and publication dates: Courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (PubMed, entries through Sep 15, 2026). NLM does not endorse Journal Clock, and these figures may not reflect the most current PubMed data. Journal fees and open-access listing: DOAJ (CC0, retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Fees paid by institutions: OpenAPC (Open Database License, retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Retractions: Retraction Watch Database via Crossref (retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Journal identifiers and topics: OpenAlex (CC0). Currency conversion: ECB reference rates (Sep 15, 2026). How these numbers are calculated · For organisations.