Blood Disorders and Blood Safety

The NHLBI Division of Intramural Research  and its Hematology Branch, Sickle Cell Branch and Sickle Cell Program include some of the investigators at NHLBI who are actively engaged in research on blood disorders and blood safety.

The research we fund today will help improve our future health. Our Division of Blood Diseases and Resources is a leader in research on the causes, prevention, and treatment of blood diseases other than cancers of blood cells. NHLBI’s Division of Cardiovascular Sciences also supports some blood science research.

Through NHLBI’s Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program, researchers will use data from studies focused on heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders to better predict, prevent, diagnose, and treat blood disorders based on a patient’s unique genes, environment, and molecular signatures. Learn more about NHLBI precision medicine activities.

The Cure Sickle Cell Initiative is a NHLBI-led collaborative research effort to develop genetic therapies for patients who have sickle cell disease. The goal is to have these genetic therapies ready to safely use in clinical research. The Initiative is patient-focused, and it will bring together researchers, industry, patients, providers, advocacy groups, and others as it supports research, education, and community engagement activities.

While most U.S. children with sickle cell disease survive to adulthood, the transition from pediatric to adult care is often challenging. By funding the Sickle Cell Disease Implementation Consortium, we are working to understand current barriers to care, test interventions to overcome those barriers, and develop a new sickle cell disease registry.

More than 75 percent of infants with sickle cell disease are born in sub-Saharan Africa. By funding the Sickle Cell Disease in Sub-Saharan Africa Collaborative Consortium and associated Data Coordinating Center, we are building the regional capabilities to research sickle cell disease and monitor patients in Africa. These efforts may ultimately improve treatment and care for Americans who have sickle cell disease.

The NHLBI started the Recipient Epidemiology and Donor Evaluation Study (REDS) program in 1989 to protect the Nation's blood supply from threats, improve the benefits of transfusions, and reduce the risks of transfusions. REDS is the largest multi-center research program of its kind in the United States, and after 30 years, it is entering a new, important phase that aims to evaluate and improve the safety and effectiveness of transfusion therapies with attention not only to adults but also to understudied populations, including newborns and children.

The Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN) was established to conduct large multi-institutional clinical trials to understand the best possible treatment approaches in blood and marrow transplantation. In the United States, nearly 21,000 patients receive blood or marrow transplants annually, mainly for rare blood disorders.

The Trans-Agency Research Consortium for Trauma-Induced Coagulopathy (TACTIC) research program was established in collaboration with the Department of Defense to study the disruptions in the normal process of blood clotting that occurs in individuals who experience severe trauma. Trauma, particularly severe trauma, can disturb the body’s mechanisms for stopping hemorrhage or lead to the overproduction of blood clots, both of which can cause major or even fatal complications.

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a collection of rare disorders that for unknown reasons leads to defects in blood stem cells, affects at least 10,000 adults each year in the United States. The National MDS Natural History Study is a joint NHLBI and National Cancer Institute study that aims to create a resource of high quality biospecimens linked to clinical data that scientists can use to conduct research to improve diagnosis and treatment of MDS.

The Biologic Specimen and Data Repository Information Coordinating Center (BioLINCC) centralizes and integrates biospecimens and clinical data that were once stored in separate repositories. Researchers can find and request available resources on BioLINCC's secure website, which maximizes the value of these resources and advances heart, lung, blood, and sleep research.

Research on genetic therapies is part of our broader commitment to advancing scientific discovery aimed at developing safe and effective treatments for heart, lung, and blood disorders and diseases caused by faulty genes. Our National Gene Vector Biorepository and Gene Therapy Resource Program help investigators transform early-stage research into genetic therapies. These programs equip scientists with the tools, resources, safety testing services, and animal models they need to advance genetic therapy research from the laboratory into clinical trials.