Victoria Esperanza Already Has a Bone Marrow Donor

Victoria Esperanza Martín Fernández is a six-year-old girl from Málaga who, after beating leukemia once, relapsed in June 2025. Now, chemotherapy was not working as it should, so the family, led by her mother, María del Mar Fernández, launched a social media campaign that went viral thanks to the unanimous support of the brotherhoods and fraternities in Málaga. But the wait is over. The mother has confirmed to SUR this noon that the girl now has a donor, as reported by the doctors from the Oncohematology Service at the Virgen del Rocío Hospital in Seville today.

The bone marrow donation, in this case, was crucial for Victoria Esperanza, who despite the difficult days she has endured, has never lost her smile in any of the viral videos she has starred in. "The donation will take place in December. We don't know the exact date yet, but we are very happy, it's like winning the lottery. She is overjoyed, ecstatic, she keeps singing: 'I have a donor, I have a donor.' And yes, we have a donor," explains her mother, visibly moved. The family is from Málaga but lives in Seville.

"Victoria Esperanza is ecstatic, she keeps singing: 'I have a donor, I have a donor.' And yes, we have a donor," says the mother.

The donor will undergo a procedure called apheresis. During this process, blood is drawn from the donor and passed through a machine that separates and preserves the stem cells. These stem cells will then be infused into the recipient, in a manner similar to a blood transfusion, as they are compatible, says María del Mar Fernández. "It's one more step, vital for her recovery, today we are very happy," she emphasizes.

A Hope for Many

"We want Victoria to be the hope for many people waiting for a bone marrow donor," María del Mar Fernández explained to SUR on October 16. "She started with leukemia at three years old, and the initial treatment with chemotherapy went very well, lasting two and a half years, ending in May 2024, and in October she rang the bell," she noted. But in June 2025, she had relapsed. Treatment began, although this time "it is being much harder, I don't know if because it's more aggressive or because after what she has been through, it's worse, but the first admission, where we stayed for a month and a half, was horrible. In September, they told us that the chemo was not working as before, because the first cycle of chemo should cleanse the marrow, but that wasn't happening now and they told us we had to go to a transplant," she detailed.

Call for bone marrow donation: a simple gesture that can save lives and raise public awareness

The stance in this situation was to raise awareness among citizens about becoming bone marrow donors. "People don't realize how necessary it is, we can't ask for a donor for Victoria, you become a donor for whoever you match, so, since we had to go through this process, we thought we could give visibility to bone marrow donation, raising awareness of how important it is, we had to do it. Many donate blood and not marrow, and all you have to do is fill out a form, get a blood test, and register. Then they might call you or not. You might be lucky enough to be called and save a life," she added.

"We are Devotees"

They have gone through the entire process with hope. "We are devotees and have the Virgin of Hope as our standard, so we face this with positivity and faith, it can't be carried in any other way, we can't be discouraged or sad, because that doesn't help her and nothing is achieved, but we take the positive from each day; with Victoria's first illness we learned to live in the here and now, here they tell you that this has to be the philosophy, because we don't know if tomorrow she will be low on defenses, if she is well and strong today and can play, today we play, we try to raise awareness about how important it is to donate marrow and that Victoria be the hope for many people who are waiting," she concluded.

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In Seville, the campaign helped to significantly increase the number of bone marrow donors. As the little girl said in one of her videos: "I want there to be many donors, I am a superheroine and I want to save all the lives." Her smile, today, shines brighter than ever. The wait is over. Victoria Esperanza now has a donor.