Over the years, as editors of Revista Brasileira de Hematologia e Hemoterapia (RBHH), we have faced different issues. The irst of these, an observation that sometimes became a question, is about the purpose of the journal. To answer this question it is necessary to return to the journal’s origins in the 1980s. In those dificult times of discretion, Brazil was different and the Sociedade Brasileira de Hematologia e Hematologia (SBHH) was going through a period of restructuring and controversy about the role of hemotherapy in the country. In a irm and decisive action, remunerated blood donation was banned in Brazil. The SBHH had published a monthly newsletter since 1973 which aimed to promote the activities of the Executive Board of the society and informing everyone about what was going on in hematology and transfusion medicine across the country. At a time when there was little information, when for most it was dificult to access scientiic journals, it was said that for some corners of the country, this was the only accessible communication about hematology and transfusion medicine. An international congress of hematology was hosted by the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1984 when the Board of the SBHH, in a daring act involving four or ive people, modiied the format of the newsletter and launched instead a prototype of the scientiic journal that circulated during the event. At that point the primary objective and heresy of the creators was to move forward and to mark a scientiic position, a criticism that the SBHH received, in addition to attracting young people