Meeting on July 3, 2023 (Zoom video call), all voting members in attendance

Reports from the Vox Sanguinis (Vox) Editor in Chief, and from the Vox Editorial Board meeting held in conjunction with the ISBT congress in Gothenburg Sweden, were provided. The report highlighted journal metrics for the year 2022. Overall, the numbers of papers received and published were similar to previous years although Vox, like other journals, saw some decline in the number of submissions following the pandemic peak of 2021. Article submissions were received from a wide range of countries in most regions of the world. The publisher’s report also included a discussion related to ongoing planning for the transition to more open access content.

Two important commentaries published in January 2023 were also highlighted in the report. One of these concerned editorial actions for mitigation of climate change. The second commentary related to equity and inclusion in editorial boards and editors.

The Impact factor for Vox Sanguinis 2022 was discussed and revealed a slight drop compared to 2021. This was concordant with the drop observed by most journals following a rise during the Covid- 19 pandemic. Vox retained its relative ranking compared to other haematology journals.

A report from the ISBT office was provided and the transition of the Transfusion Today publication to an online magazine discussed. The committee Terms of Reference were reviewed and updated.

Meeting of September 27, 2023 (Zoom video call), all voting members in attendance

Final review of changes to the Terms of Reference as well as a discussion of the article publication charges as recommended by the publisher was undertaken.

A thorough discussion of a proposal to move to online publication of Vox Sanguinis followed. This discussion included an evaluation of the cost savings as well as positive environmental impacts of this change. A comparison with other journals that had transitioned to online only was made and it was concluded that negative effects on the impact factor, article submissions or article downloads were unlikely. Reader surveys also indicate that most prefer online only.

Meeting of January 29, 2024 (Zoom video call), all voting members in attendance

Two new committee members were welcomed, John Semple, an ISBT member and former Scientific Secretary joined the Vox Standing Committee following conclusion of Diana Teo’s term. Tom Sinden, a second representative from Wiley publishing also joined the committee as an observer. The members of the committee representing Wiley liaise with the ISBT office as well as with the editors of the journal.

The plan for the transition of Vox Sanguinis to a digital publication was finalized and plans for communication of this change were made.

Ongoing social media posts regarding specific Vox Sanguinis articles including author quotes and article information were described along with plans to include similar information in the new digital Transfusion Today platform.

The development of editorial policies related to industry sponsorship of journal content was discussed.

Activities of the Vox Sanguinis Standing Committee (Vox SC) over the 2023- 2024 year have included an ongoing focus on development of sustainability strategies including the recent change to online publication. This change also contributes to ongoing preparations for the continued transition towards fully open access.

Despite a slight drop in the Impact Factor for 2022 Vox has maintained its position relative to other journals and continues to see robust article submissions from around the world.

The committee updated the terms of reference.

Two new committee members were welcomed during the 2023/2024 year.