Cuban activist Idelisa Diasniurka Salcedo Verdecia issued an urgent plea on Monday, seeking a blood donor for a baby in Havana suffering from a rare condition, colloquially referred to as the "disease of God." According to her post, baby Mateo Domínguez Serrano, who has hematohidrosis, "is critically ill and urgently needs a B Negative blood donor," Salcedo shared on Facebook.
In her message, Salcedo explained that the baby is currently at the Juan Manuel Márquez Hospital in Santa Fe, Havana, and there is an insufficient supply of the required blood type, placing the mother in a dire situation. "They are asking for 5,000 pesos for the donation, which is unimaginable, and what we truly need is someone willing to donate blood," Salcedo stated, emphasizing that the request is a matter of "life or death."
Salcedo encouraged anyone able to assist to contact the baby's mother directly at 5350507673 to arrange the blood donation and provide necessary support during this critical time. Recently, Mateo and his family received donations of a washing machine, an air conditioner (split), and a fan, thanks to the compassion shown in response to the challenging circumstances faced by the young child with hematohidrosis, a rare disorder causing him to sweat and cry blood.
Historical and Cultural Context
Back in 2020, CiberCuba interviewed Dianelis González Medina, a Cuban woman who, at 32, discovered that her then-four-year-old daughter had begun to cry and sweat blood in 2017. "She has the disease of God," her mother said, referencing the biblical account of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Gospel of Luke describes that after the Last Supper, Jesus went to pray at the Mount of Olives and was seen sweating blood.
"And being in agony, he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat was like great drops of blood falling to the ground." (Chapter 22, verse 44).
Faced with this rare condition, Dianelis González Medina appealed to the international scientific community for help and offered herself as a volunteer for research into the hematidrosis she suffered from.