Selena Gomez Receives Kidney Transplant From Best Friend5 min read

Singer Selena Gomez recently received a kidney transplant from television actress Francia Raisa who is also her best friend, due to her struggle with lupus.

Gomez disclosed in an Instagram post confirmed by her publicist that she has been somewhat out of the spotlight this summer because she was recovering from the procedure. The 25-year-old describes the transplant as something she needed to do for her overall health.

The post didn’t reveal Gomez’s current condition or say where or when the procedure took place but she wrote, “I’m very aware some of my fans had noticed I was laying low for part of the summer and questioning why I wasn’t promoting my new music, which I was extremely proud of, so I found out I needed to get a kidney transplant due to my Lupus and was recovering. It was what I needed to do for my overall health.”

Gomez wrote, “there aren’t words to describe” how she can thank Raisa, who she says gave “the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney.” She further added that she is incredibly blessed. The Instagram post includes a picture of Gomez and Raisa holding hands while lying side-by-side in hospital beds and another photo of a scar on Gomez’s abdomen. The 29-year-old Raisa is best known for her role on the ABC Family series The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Gomez revealed her lupus diagnosis in 2015 and took a break from her career last year to deal with anxiety, panic attacks and depression stemming from her battle with the disease. Lupus is an autoimmune disease, where the body mistakenly attacks its own tissues, sometimes including the kidneys. Symptoms can include bloody or foamy urine, unexplained weight gain, high blood pressure or swelling in the legs, ankles or around the eyes.