MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — More than three decades ago, a 16-year-old South Florida girl made a decision that would save her older sister’s life.

Today, that decision continues to have an impact on a family that might not otherwise exist.

“My aunt donated her bone marrow to my mom, and that’s the reason that I’m here today,” said Vianca Perez, an advocate for bone marrow donations.

Perez’s mother, Liudmila Esquerdo, was just 19 years old when she was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia, a rare and potentially life-threatening blood disorder.

Doctors initially tried treatments to get her bone marrow to respond.

“That did not work, and that’s when they were looking for a donor,” Esquerdo said.

Her younger sister, Ivette Esquerdo, turned out to be a perfect match.

“I was blessed that my sister — all 10 of those components — were 100% matched,” Liudmila Esquerdo said.

Ivette agreed to donate her bone marrow. She was just 16.

Before the transplant, Liudmila endured lengthy hospital stays and difficult treatments as her family stayed close and hoped for a successful outcome.

Even after the transplant, there was no guarantee it would work.

“July 24, 1995, it was the very last day and my bone marrow wasn’t reacting,” Liudmila recalled.

Her family began to lose hope.

Then, at the last moment, something changed.

“We had lost hope, and that last minute the bone marrow started to work,” she said.

For Liudmila, it became a second birthday.

“It’s the day their body accepted that bone marrow,” she said.

The transplant did more than save Liudmila’s life. It allowed her to go on to have a family, including daughter Vianca and younger son Gabriel.

Liudmila never forgot the other patients she met during her treatment who did not survive.

“While I was going through this process, so many people passed away in the bone marrow transplant center that I knew for sure that if I lived, I needed to pay it forward,” she said.

In 2018, she decided how she would do it: by starting the Get Redd Foundation.

The nonprofit works with people affected by rare blood disorders, providing support while also raising awareness about stem cell and bone marrow donation.

“We find out how we can help, but more than anything, how can we give you the hope that healing is possible and that miracles are for today,” Liudmila said.

Get Redd hosts an annual wellness event featuring fitness and nutrition workshops while educating attendees about becoming potential donors.

Registration to become a stem cell or bone marrow donor can begin with a simple cheek swab.

“There’s no price to knowing that you were part of someone staying alive and on this earth,” Liudmila said.

The foundation also holds celebration dinners honoring survivors of rare blood disorders.

Among those honored this year was Jeff Budnechky, owner of Apocalypse BBQ in Kendall.

Budnechky is a bone marrow recipient and said his donor gave him far more than additional years of life.

“If someone didn’t take the time to donate bone marrow, if somebody hadn’t swabbed for me to have a match, there would be no Apocalypse,” Budnechky said. “There would be no Lala’s Burgers. My daughter, Eli, wouldn’t exist. There would have never been a marriage to my wife, Laura.”

It is a message Perez hopes will inspire others to consider registering.

“How people not only can save one life, but they can save a family, a lineage,” Perez said. “It’s generations really who you’re impacting.”

Local 10, Get Redd and Apocalypse BBQ are now making it easier — and tastier — for South Floridians to take the first step toward potentially becoming a donor.

People 18 and older can register below.

The first 100 people to sign up will be invited to Apocalypse BBQ in Kendall to have their cheeks swabbed and join the donor registry. In return, each participant will receive a free pulled pork sandwich.

Additional details will be sent to the first 100 people who register.

For Liudmila and her family, the hope is that a simple decision today could have the same lasting impact as the one Ivette made 31 years ago — saving not just one life, but potentially generations to come.

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