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An ASH abstract is the short research summary submitted to the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), the professional society for blood-disease clinicians and researchers. This page is for investigators, trainees and research-office staff who need to understand what the abstract commits them to: the submission timeline, the embargo that follows, and the copyright assignment. The dates below are those the official ASH pages described on 2026-11-08 for the 2026 annual meeting; ASH changes them each year.
What it is and who runs it
ASH organises its annual meeting and runs the abstract programme through its own website at hematology.org. Submissions go through an online system; abstracts sent by email are not accepted. Abstracts are presented as oral or poster sessions or published online only, and accepted abstracts appear online on a set date. The late-breaking track is a second, shorter route for studies that were not ready by the general deadline. If you are looking for the broader field, see our guide to what hematology is.
An abstract here is a conference abstract, which differs from the structured abstract of a journal article. For the journal version see parts of a research paper.
Eligibility (summary, with the official source)
As described on the official late-breaking call (read 2026-11-08), a late-breaking abstract must present novel and substantive studies of high impact that could not otherwise be presented at the meeting. The submission must explain why it was not ready by the 4 August 2026 general deadline, and reviewers see that explanation. The presenting author must be available in person at the meeting in New Orleans (12-15 December 2026). The page also records the following conditions: the work must not have been accepted for publication before 28 October 2026, and must not have been presented at a meeting of 3,000 or more participants before ASH or at an ASH Friday Satellite Symposium.
Eligibility rules for the regular abstract track, including fees and length limits, are set out in ASH’s author instructions for the current year, and they are not restated here.
What it requires
Late-breaking abstract requirements
- Fee: US$150 per abstract, nonrefundable, paid by credit card only (Visa, MasterCard, American Express). Purchase orders and checks are not accepted. The fee does not include meeting registration.
- Length: up to 4,500 characters including spaces. No figures or tables.
- Title and authors: sentence-case title; title, authors and institutions entered in separate fields, not in the abstract text.
- Completeness: the Submission Information and Disclosure sections and the payment are all required; an abstract without them is not reviewed.
- Review: late-breaking abstracts go through peer review, and six are accepted for the Late-Breaking session.
Copyright and reuse
The ASH embargo policy states that authors assign copyright of the abstract to ASH upon submission, unless an author is a U.S. federal employee, in which case ASH does not hold copyright. In the policy’s words, this means the identical abstract may not be republished or submitted to another meeting. Research offices that route conference submissions should record this before a team submits the same text elsewhere. Our conference travel grant award entry covers the funding side of attending.
Application steps
- Open the official submission site. For late-breaking abstracts, enter a title to save a draft; the system emails an edit link.
- Complete the submission information, author disclosures and payment.
- Explain why the work qualifies as late-breaking and missed the general deadline.
- Proofread. Abstracts are reproduced exactly as submitted, and no content or author-order changes are allowed after the deadline.
- Tick the first-time-submitter box if it applies, and edit the draft until the deadline; submissions incomplete at the deadline are rejected.
- Register for the meeting separately, as every presenting author must.
Typical timeline phases
The table sets the regular and late-breaking tracks side by side, using the dates the official pages gave for the 2026 meeting (read 2026-11-08). The phases repeat each year; the dates do not.
| Phase | Regular abstracts | Late-breaking abstracts |
|---|---|---|
| Submission opens | 2 June, 9:00 a.m. ET | 14 October |
| Submission deadline | 4 August, 11:59 p.m. PT | 28 October, 11:59 p.m. PT |
| Withdrawal deadline | 16 September, 11:59 p.m. PT | 28 October |
| Abstracts online | 4 November, 9:00 a.m. ET | 7 December, 9:00 a.m. ET |
| Poster materials due | 16 November | Not stated on the call page |
The late-breaking call also says the six accepted abstracts are published online on 11 December and in a late-breaking supplemental issue of Blood; abstracts not accepted are not published in any form.
When the embargo lifts
Under the official embargo policy for the 2026 meeting, abstract details are embargoed until they are published or presented. The embargo lifts: for oral presentations, at the start of the session or the relevant ASH press briefing, whichever comes first; for poster presentations, when the poster session opens for viewing that day or at the relevant press briefing, whichever comes first; and for online-only abstracts, at the 4 November online release (9:00 a.m. ET). Late-breaking abstracts are embargoed until 7 December, 9:00 a.m. ET. For the general concept see the embargo definition.
The policy includes one exception. Where a publicly traded company is legally required to disclose certain data from the abstract before the embargo ends, ASH may permit limited topline data to be released early without affecting the abstract’s eligibility. The request must include details of the release and a letter from legal counsel, and ASH reviews each request case by case.
Common mistakes
- Submitting the late-breaking form without the Disclosure section or payment: those abstracts are not reviewed.
- Assuming an error can be fixed later: content and author order cannot be changed after the deadline.
- Emailing an abstract: only the online system is accepted.
- Releasing results publicly or to the press before the embargo lifts, outside the company-disclosure exception.
- Planning to reuse the identical abstract at another meeting, which the copyright assignment does not allow.
- Treating last year’s figures as current: fees and limits differ between years, so use the current official guide.
Related pages
For how abstracts are screened after publication, see title and abstract screening. Journal outputs from the same field include Blood Advances. If a manuscript is rejected at editorial triage, desk rejection explains the term.
FAQ
What is an ASH abstract?
It is a summary of a study submitted to the American Society of Hematology annual meeting, through ASH’s online submission system, for presentation or online publication.
What is the ASH abstract deadline for 2026?
The official page described the regular submission deadline as 4 August 2026, 11:59 p.m. Pacific, and the late-breaking window as 14 to 28 October 2026.
Who owns the copyright to an ASH abstract?
Authors assign copyright to ASH on submission, except U.S. federal employees, per the ASH embargo policy.
Can I publish the same abstract elsewhere?
The policy says the identical abstract may not be republished or submitted to another meeting.
How many late-breaking abstracts are accepted?
Six, according to the late-breaking call.
Sources
- American Society of Hematology, Annual Meeting abstracts, key dates, read 2026-11-08.
- American Society of Hematology, Call for late-breaking abstracts, read 2026-11-08.
- American Society of Hematology, Embargo policy, read 2026-11-08.
