Research Saves Lives

Life-saving scientific research is under attack in Washington, and your help is needed to protect funding, advance patient care, and preserve jobs.

What You Need to Know

1The Trump Administration wants to make a $5.8 billion cut to the budget of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the country’s primary medical research agency.
2The Administration also wants to give political appointees the power to approve or cancel medical research grants, instead of scientific peer review through a rule proposed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The combined effect of these proposals would severely damage America’s economy and healthcare, which depend on strong investment in scientific research. Globally, it would diminish the country’s reputation as a leader in medical discoveries.

Worst of all, cuts to research funding and the proposed changes to the grant process will harm the millions of people affected by cancer, blood disorders, heart disease, and stroke.

ASH, which represents more than 18,000 clinicians and scientists, strongly urges Congress to support NIH and protect it against political interference.

Contact Congress to Stop the OMB Rule

Explore the Impact of Medical Research On:

The Economy

Patients

Global Leadership

Medical Advances

Economic Impact

NIH Funding Boosts Growth and Development

Biomedical research stimulates the U.S. economy. On average, each dollar of NIH funding generates more than twice as much in economic output. These benefits are very important to many communities, especially those where universities, research institutes, and medical colleges are major contributors to the local economy.

Medical Research Supports Jobs

Federally-supported research occurs in every state and nearly every congressional district, and NIH funding in particular directly and indirectly supports hundreds of thousands of jobs nationwide, including 390,863 jobs nationwide in FY 2025.

 

If OMB’s rule takes effect, early-career investigators could be discouraged from pursuing jobs in the U.S. because their years of work could be upended without warning, purely for political reasons. The country risks losing top scientific talent and weakening its own research leadership for decades.

ASH's Ask to Congress:

Support federal research funding and oppose the administration’s proposed FY 2027 budget, which seeks to cut 12.3% (approximately $5.8 billion) from the NIH budget.

Get Involved

How Does NIH Support Your State?

For more information on how NIH funding affects the economy, patients, and medical advances in your state, download our state fact sheets.

Americans Like Medical Research, Not Political Interference

Support for quality scientific research is not niche, it’s mainstream. Seventy-one percent of registered voters believe federal funding for medical research on cures for cancer and other debilitating health issues should increase, according to a national poll.

 

In addition, OMB’s proposed grantmaking rule changes received nearly 500,000 public comments, almost all of which were opposed to the plan. Americans recognize the value of stable, merit-based, nonpartisan science and medical research, especially those whose lives have been saved by it.

Impact on Patients

Millions of Americans are affected by blood diseases and disorders. Without vital research supported by NIH, the health threats are alarmingly real for individuals living with blood cancers, including leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma, and conditions such as sickle cell disease (SCD), anemia, venous thromboembolism (blood clots), and hemophilia.

Read More About Blood Disorders

Investing in research is not optional; it’s lifesaving. I’m alive today because of advances in stem cell transplants and targeted therapies. Federal programs that support patients, caregivers, and equitable access to care are the backbone of recovery. Every dollar toward science is a vote for survival, for hope, for the future.

Rohan

Patient with acute myeloid leukemia

Join the #Fight4Hematology, Save Patient Lives
Read Other People's Stories

Patients Can't Wait While Politicians Debate

By sidelining scientific experts and putting grant decisions in the hands of political appointees, OMB’s proposal would slow down critical research and harm patients. New and innovative treatments exist today because Congress has sustained bipartisan, hands-off investments in NIH, CDC, basic science, clinical research, and public health. These investments are why:

Millions of patients are alive today because generations of federally funded researchers had the stability to pursue discoveries. The research pipeline needs continuity: basic discoveries lead to translational studies, clinical trials, and eventually new standards of care. Interrupting that pipeline means fewer “next options” for patients whose disease stops responding to today’s treatments.

Impact on Global Leadership

Without NIH funding, health care and research professionals may no longer be able to continue their groundbreaking work in hematology. Fewer R01 grants, the most commonly used and competitive program for independent research projects, will halt progress in developing treatments and cures. Facing cuts and potential restrictions on their work, fewer individuals may pursue careers in scientific research and those who do may look abroad for better opportunities.

Since the start of the year, NIH has scaled back new grant awards by $2.3 billion. The Administration's proposed cut of nearly 12.3% to NIH’s budget will derail countless research projects, threatening the position of the U.S. as a global leader in scientific research. The Congressional Budget Office report from 2025 estimates that a cut of just 10% would decrease the number of new drugs coming to market by roughly 4.5%.

Read stories on NIH cuts affecting health care and research professionals
Tell Congress to Stop These Cuts

With these cuts (both real and threatened), the likelihood of keeping early-stage investigators in the pipeline is low, and the likelihood of other nations scooping up well-educated research professionals is high. This brain drain will jeopardize the U.S.’ position as a leader in medical innovation and the development of new cures.

Jennifer Holter-Chakrabarty, MD

ASH Councillor

Impact on Medical Advances

Critical advancements in the understanding and treatment of blood disorders would not have been possible without Congress’ investment in NIH. Proposed cuts to NIH would slow or stop lifesaving advances in areas like pediatric leukemia, sickle cell disease, bone marrow transplant, and personalized medicine.

Below are a few major hematology breakthroughs made possible because of federal funding from NIH over the past several decades:

Gene therapies for sickle cell disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first cell-based gene therapies for the treatment of sickle cell disease (SCD) in patients 12 years and older in December 2023. These advancements hold promise for delivering more targeted and effective treatments not only for SCD, but also for other rare diseases with limited treatment options. The FDA’s approval of these groundbreaking therapies was the result of decades of research, including that funded by NIH.

CAR-T therapy for blood cancers

The approval of chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy by the FDA in August 2017 marked an important shift in treatment for individuals with blood cancers who have exhausted all other options – by harnessing the power of a patient’s own immune system to eradicate cancer. The FDA’s approval of this breakthrough treatment resulted from more than 10 years of research, supported by funding from NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and National Cancer Institute.

Improved blood clot treatments

Diseases such as heart attacks and strokes, which arise from clots in our blood vessels, are among the most common causes of death in developed countries. However, advances in therapy have lowered the risk of blood clots in leg veins by more than 70%, with deaths from heart attacks reduced by nearly 50%.

Additional Information

#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 the future of hematology research and advances in patient care. Together, we can drive meaningful change!

Advocacy

Join ASH in our relentless pursuit of progress, as we actively shape policies and encourage robust funding that will impact the very heart of hematology research and practice.

Learn About ASH Advocacy

Blood Diseases/Disorders

View resources developed by ASH  to educate the public about the importance of healthy blood and to raise the awareness of common blood diseases, such as anemia, bleeding and clotting disorders, and blood cancers.

Learn About Blood Diseases and Disorders

ASH Foundation

Help move hematology forward with a charitable gift or pledge to the ASH Foundation. Your generous support enables the ASH Foundation to do more for hematology by providing critical funding for research, career development, and quality care and education programs.

Give to the ASH Foundation