Many thanks to our eternal Editor of the Revista Brasileira de Hematologia e Hemoterapia, Professor Milton Artur Ruiz

This editorial is to thank, on behalf of the entire board of the Associação Brasileira de Hematologia e Hemoterapia (ABHH), Milton Arthur Ruiz, former president of the Sociedade Brasileira de Hematologia e Hemoterapia (SBHH) and member of the Deliberative Board of the ABHH, for his magnificent work as Editor-in-Chief of our journal, the Revista Brasileira de Hematologia e Hemoterapia (RBHH). I am of a generation that saw the scientific growth and maturation of Brazilian hematology with an increasing number of master's dissertations and doctoral theses presented at national and international congresses and a growing number of publications in international journals. I also followed very closely the transformation of the 'Bulletin', published by the SBHH and forerunner of the RBHH. All our historical legacy of this period was organized and published by Milton Ruiz and will always be part of the history of our specialty. I co-authored the first article published by the 'Bulletin' along with Professor Irene Lorand-Metze and Dr. Julio Roberto Correa on the importance of bone marrow biopsy in hematology, a very well-known theme today, but very big news at that time.¹ The first publication of Dr. Milton was about sickle cell disease.² Fifteen years later Dr. Milton was co- author of an article about nutritional status of children with acute leukemia in the RBHH as we know it today.³

The creation and maintenance of a scientific journal is a challenge that few organizations can achieve in the long term. The scientific world is very competitive and increasingly professional today and maintaining a vehicle for scientific communications requires researchers to believe in the project and submit their research manuscripts. On the other hand, editors, co-editors and peer-reviewers are required to main- tain the quality of papers including rejecting those that do not have quality or interest within the journal's editorial policy. Transforming our journal into an international publication, in English, and indexing it in the best primary electronic databases with growing numbers of citations and international visibility was a difficult accomplishment that required hard work, cooperation and the power to convince even some within our own scientific community. The RBHH intends to be another source of knowledge; it is the only journal of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine in the southern hemisphere. Researchers, and students from Latin America, including Brazil, the Middle East, Asia, among others, have the RBHH as another option for their publications.

Certainly, Milton Ruiz knows that there are still many difficulties to be overcome. His collaboration for over two decades in the 'Bulletin' and afterwards in the RBHH originally published in Portuguese and from 2010 in English, was absolutely crucial. His decision to forgo this important function was certainly mature. The ABHH and all Brazilian hematologists will remember his work and credit him with the merit that he deserves. The RBHH will always have his name indelibly written as Editor in Chief in its future issues; he held this position for such a long, almost uninterrupted period, for more than ten years. We always count on his help and opinion in the present and future of the RBHH and send our sincere thanks and recognition for his excellent work.

REFERENCES

• ¹
  Lorand-Metze I, de Souza CA, Corrêa JR. Biópsia medular com obtenção simultânea de material para exame citológico (imprint). Seu valor diagnóstico. Bol Soc Bras Hematol Hemoter. 1984;6(125):3-7.
• ²
  RuizMA. Síndromes Falcêmicos. Bol Soc Bras Hematol Hemoter. 1985;7(132):47-52.
• ³
  Borim LN, Ruiz MA, Fett-Conte AC, Camargo B. Estado nutricional como fator prognóstico em crianças portadoras de leucemia linfocítica aguda. Rev Bras Hematol Hemoter. 2000;22(1):47-53.

• 1516-8484/(c) 2014 Associação Brasileira de Hematologia, Hemoterapia e Terapia Celular. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  Feb 2015

History

• Accepted
  16 Dec 2014