It has been a year since she received blood transfusions, but until very recently she needed one a day to survive. In the last decade, she tried up to nine different treatments, using all sorts of strategies, such as antibodies, steroids, or immunosuppressant drugs. But none of them had a lasting impact. This is the case of a 47-year-old woman with three complex and serious diseases that caused her immune system – that is, the body's defenses – to mistakenly attack her own cells as if they were an external threat.

"Mar was very small, 16 months old, and had only been walking for a month when she was diagnosed. In her case, it started with knee inflammation that prevented her from walking. In three weeks, we had the diagnosis: juvenile idiopathic arthritis, a chronic, lifelong disease," explains Helena Soler, Mar's mother, who now... In her case, the diagnosis came quickly: the pediatrician referred them to the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital and after some tests, in less than a month, they had the diagnosis. But, on average, children with this type of disease take two years to be diagnosed after the first symptoms appear, according to data from the Platform of Patient Organizations.