Scientific integrity: duplicate publication

The editorial teams of Blood and the British Journal of Haematology recently became aware of an attempt at duplicate publication involving both journals. Regrettably, as a sanction for this unacceptable behavior, the 2 journals have combined to exclude the authors from submitting to the journals for 2 years. Both journals take their responsibilities to maintain widely accepted scientific publishing standards very seriously, and this sanction reflects this responsibility. Based on this episode, both journals wish to make our readers aware of the serious breach of scientific and publishing standards that dual publication represents. In the future, attempts at duplicate publication may be treated more severely, including retraction of the article. We hope that this editorial note acts as a timely reminder to us all of the high value that should be placed on good scientific publication ethics.