How many new treatments could be lost if funding for medical research is cut?

That's what Congress is considering right now: a proposed 12.3% budget cut to America’s biggest health research agency, the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Explore the ways in which NIH-backed studies have helped people around the world live longer and healthier in the face of serious diseases.

Lifesaving Cures Start with Medical Research

Research Takes Time

Funding Science Pays Off

How to Speak Up for Research Funding

I’m five years post-transplant because people did work years before I arrived.

Debra

Diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia in 2017

Read her full story and more

Lifesaving Cures Start with Medical Research

Science isn't just for the lab. Medical research is all around you, whether you take allergy medicine or have surgery. Medical studies have helped save lives for generations. Many of these studies are funded by NIH, including the ones that helped Robert “Bob” Mesloh get treatment for non-Hodkin lymphoma. Now he advocates to keep medical research funded.

“I am alive today because some scientists many years ago had the foresight to know that attacking proteins on a cancer cell could prevent it minimally from growing and, maximally, cause it to die off.”

Bob / Diagnosed with follicular non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 1998

Research takes time, but to patients, it’s worth it.

When it comes to medical research, there's no such thing as "overnight success." Science can take years — even decades — to find treatments for serious illnesses. It took 138 years from the discovery of sickle cell disease (SCD) in 1846 to the first recorded cure in 1984. And since then, researchers have developed more and better treatments to treat and defeat this painful condition.

Ronisha Edwards-Elliot both researches SCD and lives with it. She knows first-hand how dangerous cutting federal funding for disease research can be for everyone.

“If we continue on with lack of funding, lack of resources…lives will be in jeopardy.”

Ronisha / Born with sickle cell disease

Funding Science Pays Off

Scientific research provides jobs, fuels innovation, and improves lives through discoveries that lead to new treatments and cures.

Did You Know?

Every dollar that NIH spends on medical research generates more than twice as much back into the economy!

See the Impact

NIH Supports Jobs in Every State

NIH funding supported more than 390k jobs nationwide in FY 2025.

See the Impact

People Love Science

Seventy-one percent of registered voters want Congress to increase NIH’s budget and federal spending on medical research.

Read the Press Release

Americans don’t always agree on what they think federal funding should be used for. But when it comes to medical research, people are in favor! That’s because they understand that fighting cancer and other serious illnesses is worth the money.

As a former NIH researcher and person living with a rare blood disorder, William “Bill” Pavan, PhD, is alarmed by widespread NIH job cuts, stalled research funding, and the threat of more cuts in the future. Bill says once a scientific study is interrupted, it can ruin any progress.

“If we don’t keep these labs funded, we won’t have treatments in the pipeline. We won’t have new chemotherapies coming out that we need.”

Bill / diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome in 2021

How to Speak Up for Research

#Fight4Hematology

ASH has created the #Fight4Hematology Action Hub to keep you up to date on ASH's efforts and provide four easy ways you can get involved to protect hematology research and advances in patient care.

Visit the #Fight4Hematology Action Hub

Donate

Every gift to the ASH Foundation is a vital philanthropic investment in ASH’s mission of helping hematologists conquer blood diseases worldwide. Help ASH sustain the future of hematology in both academia and clinical practice.

Support ASH's Efforts

Take Action to Protect Research Funding

ASH is the leading advocate for hematologists in Washington, even in light of repeated attempts to cut federal research funding. ASH is calling on you to help support our mission by using your voice. Urge your lawmakers to reject NIH cuts and support strong, sustained research funding.

Reach Out to Congress
Patient Resources

What You Should Know About Blood

ASH has accessible, general resources — reviewed by experts — to help everyone understand blood's role in the body, as well as common blood diseases including anemia, bleeding and clotting disorders, blood cancers, and more. In addition, the Blood Health Information Hub aims to dispel myths about blood disorders with accurate, reliable, and trustworthy information. Get the facts as well as tips for talking to your doctor about blood health.