Selena Gomez Just Revealed She Received a Kidney Transplant From Actress BFF

Selena Gomez took to Instagram on Thursday to give fans a health update and to share some news.

The 25-year-old singer and actress revealed that she has been stepping back from the spotlight as of late because she recently underwent a kidney transplant. The transplant was a part of her lupus treatment.

“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,” she wrote. “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 also revealed that her longtime friend Francia Raisa, who starred in The Secret Life of the American Teenager, was the one who donated her kidney.

“There aren’t words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa,” she captioned the photo of her and Raisa holding hands in side-by-side hospital beds. “She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me. I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much sis.”

Gomez shared several photos of her transplant scars and thanked her family and team of medical staff who helped her through the surgery and recovery.

Her post immediately received thousands of comments wishing both her and Raisa well, like “Praying for your fast recovery.” One person wrote, “What a great person in your life to help you through. From my family to yours we wish you all the best.”

Gomez wrote that she hopes to share more about her journey in the near future and ended her post with some info about lupus, an inflammatory disease that’s a result of the body’s immune system attacking its own tissues and organs. Not only can it affect the kidneys, like we saw in Gomez’s case, but also many other systems like joints, skin, blood cells, the brain, the heart and the lungs.

“Lupus continues to be very misunderstood but progress is being made,” she wrote. “For more information regarding Lupus please go to the Lupus Research Alliance website: www.lupusresearch.org/.”

Gomez has opened up about her battle with lupus in the past. Last year, she took a well-publicized break from her career to focus on her mental and physical health.

“As many of you know, around a year ago I revealed that I have lupus, an illness that can affect people in different ways,” the 24-year-old shared with PEOPLE in 2016. “I’ve discovered that anxiety, panic attacks and depression can be side effects of lupus, which can present their own challenges.”

“I want to be proactive and focus on maintaining my health and happiness and have decided that the best way forward is to take some time off. Thank you to all my fans for your support.”

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