MAYOR of Málaga Francisco de la Torre is considering naming a sports stadium after the 20-year-old firefighter Pablo Ráez, who lost his battle with leukaemia last month.
Pablo, who was training for the International Transplant Games – due to be held in the Costa del Sol capital this year, its first time in Spain – managed to find a bone-marrow transplant via an Instagram appeal which, although it failed to save his life, came as part of a wider campaign to seek donors for leukaemia patients worldwide.
His 'million donor challenge' sought to find a seven-figure number of people willing to give some of their blood-producing cells, and since he set it up, hospitals have been overwhelmed with offers.
De la Torre said the stadium would be 'a fitting homage' to Pablo as well as 'a reminder' of the importance of bone-marrow donation.
His idea comes in response to a petition on Change.org for a street in Marbella, where Pablo lived, to be named after him.
The mayor says the City of Málaga Arena may not be the only public site named after the brave young man.
Pablo was due to be the flag-carrier for the games, due to take place at the stadium, and his face was used as the main promotional campaign when Málaga bid for the honour of hosting the event.
Málaga sports and tourism councillors took a video featuring Pablo and his description of surviving a bone-marrow transplant to Mar de Plata, Argentina, in summer 2015.
Not only has the International Transplant Games led to bookings for trips to Málaga taking off, but Pablo's own appeal and his planned candidature helped to spread the word even more, meaning he has posthumously done his bit for his provincial capital even though he will not get to compete.
Marbella council has said it intends to follow through with the request of those who signed the two petitions for a street to be named after Ráez.
One petition was a general plea, and the other asked for the new boulevard due to be built in the Albarizas district of Marbella to be named Héroe Pablo Ráez, since his contribution to raising awareness of the need for bone marrow and drumming up donors does, according to the signatories, make him a hero.
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