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Raibel David Gómez Santana, the 10-month-old baby from Sancti Spíritus who needs a liver transplant to survive, is reported in critical condition at the «José Martí» Provincial Pediatric Hospital in that city, and there is a possibility that he may require mechanical ventilation in the coming hours.
The activist Yamilka Lafita, known as Lara Crofs, published an urgent update on Friday regarding the case, warning that the child's condition has significantly worsened.
Raibel suffers from biliary atresia without a gallbladder or common bile duct, a congenital malformation that obstructs bile flow to the intestine and causes progressive liver damage. The Kasai procedure he underwent was unsuccessful, and the baby now presents with severe liver failure with ascites and edema, along with noticeable inflammation in the abdomen and feet.
«What he needs is an urgent liver transplant. It can't be done in Cuba,» declared his father, Raudelvis Gómez Carabeo, when he made the first public appeal at the end of May with the message, "Please, don't let my son die."
Both parents are compatible as donors of a portion of the liver. "We are both compatible; whoever is needed will donate a part," the father stated.
However, the main obstacle remains bureaucratic: the Spanish Consulate requires a letter of acceptance from a Spanish hospital to grant the humanitarian visa, and the family mentions the Hospital Universitario La Paz in Madrid as a potential receiving center.
"What we need is a letter of acceptance from a Spanish hospital, such as Hospital La Paz in Madrid. Without that document, the Spanish Consulate will not grant us the humanitarian visa," explained Raudelvis Gómez Carabeo.
Since the case became public, support for Raibel has been growing on social media.
Lafita committed to supporting the family in the same way they did for Amanda Lemus Ortiz, another girl from Sancti Spiritus with the same diagnosis who was successfully transplanted at the La Paz Hospital in Madrid in March 2024 thanks to a campaign that raised over 20,000 dollars. Amanda celebrated her fourth birthday in January 2026 with an exemplary recovery.
The case of Raibel also brings to mind the fate of the baby Rafael Junior Chávez Carrera, who was eight months old and died on June 29, 2025 at the William Soler Pediatric Hospital in Havana without receiving the transplant he needed, despite his mother being a compatible donor.
Cuba does not have an active pediatric liver transplant program, which forces families to rely on solidarity campaigns and urgent international efforts.
The infant mortality rate on the island increased by 148% between 2018 and 2025, rising from 4.0 to 9.9 per 1,000 live births.
"It is impossible not to wonder how a child can end up in such a critical situation when there are options that could provide him with a chance to survive," Lafita wrote in his post this Friday, in which he also urged others to share the case to raise awareness while time is running out for Raibel.
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