About Blood: The Vital Connection

Blood: The Vital Connection is a consumer campaign designed to educate the public about the importance of healthy blood. Developed by the American Society of Hematology (ASH), the campaign aims to raise awareness about the most common blood diseases, such as anemia, bleeding and clotting disorders, and blood cancers. A recent phone survey of more than 1,000 adults in the U.S. demonstrated that there is a low level of awareness about blood disorders and hematology in general.

• Only one consumer in five (21 percent) named a hematologist as the type of medical doctor who treats patients with blood-related conditions, diseases, or disorders.
• When asked to list blood-related conditions or diseases (without assistance), 36 percent listed leukemia, 22 percent listed anemia, 11 percent named sickle cell anemia, and 8 percent named hemophilia. Blood clotting disorders, lymphoma, myeloma, and deep-vein thrombosis were named by fewer than 4 percent of respondents.
• When asked if they had heard of deep-vein thrombosis, only 40 percent reported being aware of it. Additionally, fewer than four in 10 people (39 percent) could identify hematologists as the medical doctors most likely to treat deep-vein thrombosis.

Blood: The Vital Connection content and messages have been reviewed and approved by a scientific advisory panel of hematologists who are members of ASH, the premier membership association representing more than 15,000 hematologists worldwide. ASH’s mission is to further the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting the blood, bone marrow, and the immunologic, hemostatic and vascular systems, by promoting research, clinical care, education, training, and advocacy in hematology.

ASH celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2008 and is marking this milestone by helping the public make the connection between blood and total health.

Scientific Advisory Board

Peter D. Emanuel, MD [Chair]
Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR

Christopher Bredeson, MD
The Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI  

Elaine S. Chottiner, MD
Ann Arbor Hematology Oncology Associates, Ypsilanti, MI

Brad Kahl, MD
University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

Ginna G. Laport, MD
Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA

Zora R. Rogers, MD
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX