Solidarity with Raibel David Gómez Santana, a 10-month-old baby from Sancti Spíritus, is growing on social media as his family fights against time to secure a liver transplant that cannot be performed in Cuba.
The father of the minor, Raudelvis Gómez Carabeo, made a desperate public plea last weekend with a phrase that encapsulates the family's anguish: "Please, do not let my son die."
Raibel David was diagnosed with biliary atresia without a gallbladder or common bile duct. The Kasai procedure performed on him failed, and the baby now shows severe liver failure with ascites and edema, along with visible inflammation in the abdomen and feet.
"What is needed is an urgent liver transplant. It can't be done in Cuba," stated the father, who also clarified that both he and the baby's mother are compatible for donation: "We are both compatible; whoever is needed will donate a portion."
The main obstacle is not medical but bureaucratic. To obtain a humanitarian visa from the Spanish Consulate, the family first needs a letter of acceptance from a Spanish hospital.
"What we need is a letter of acceptance from a Spanish hospital, like Hospital La Paz in Madrid. Without that document, the Spanish Consulate won't grant us the humanitarian visa," explained Gómez Carabeo.
The call was spread by the activist from Sancti Spíritus Yureibys Torresilla, who described how the child's father personally came to his home to ask for help: "The child's father came to my house to look for me, and how could I refuse? I would never deny help for anything in this world, and here I am."
The case received the support of activist Yamilka Lafita, known on social media as Lara Crofs, who announced that she will support the family in the same way she did with another child from Sancti Spíritus with the same diagnosis.
"It's a case very similar to that of our Amanda, but even more delicate due to the baby's age and the seriousness of the situation," Lafita wrote.
This Wednesday, Lafita also posted an urgent request on Facebook for a ticket from Ciego de Ávila or Morón to Sancti Spíritus to transport a medication that the baby urgently needs, offering to transfer the money herself.
The precedent that gives hope to the case is that of Amanda Lemus Ortiz, a girl also from Sancti Spíritus with the same illness.
Thanks to a campaign led by Lafita that raised over $20,000, Amanda underwent a transplant on March 15, 2024, at the La Paz University Hospital in Madrid, where her father donated a portion of his liver. In January 2026, Amanda celebrated her fourth birthday with an exemplary recovery.
But not all cases end this way. Baby Rafael Junior Chávez Carrera, eight months old, died on June 29, 2025 at the William Soler Pediatric Hospital in Havana without receiving the transplant he needed, despite the fact that his mother was a compatible donor.
Cuba does not have an active pediatric liver transplantation program, forcing families to rely on solidarity campaigns and urgent international efforts in the context of a deep health crisis: the infant mortality rate on the island rose by 148% between 2018 and 2025.
"We are racing against time. Share this message," concluded Raibel David's father.
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