Qualitative study conducted in the light of ethnomethodology, with the processing of data from the discourse analysis of 26 interviews and unstructured records of participant observation in the field diary. It aimed to examine the route of blood donor candidates at a hematology service (HS) in Rio de Janeiro. The itinerary of blood donors starts with their awareness to the course for the donation, including health and the several contexts of the lives of candidates, and takes shape in the micro-political work. Replacement donors (65.4%) prevailed, characterized by groups of relatives, friends, coworkers, neighbors, and in smaller numbers, by people who do not even know the receiver. Among these donors, 46.1% live in areas other than where the HS is located, and 23.1% live in other cities. Along the itinerary, there are previous and posterior steps leading to the screening clinic, which is highlighted by the possibility of the expression of light technology in nursing care. The meanings attributed to the donation and motivation are individual for each donor. The knowledge of the route allows the reflection on the management of the micro-political space in which users and nurses meet, both showing the path that the donor takes in the health system, and a possible definition of a health care model in the light of the health needs of donors for nursing care in hemotherapy.
nursing; hemotherapy service; blood donors; health policy