Lupus Research Alliance CEO Has High Praise For 'Courageous' Selena Gomez

As you already know, Selena Gomez's struggle with Lupus recently led to a kidney transplant and the outpour of support from folks inside and outside of the health community has been undeniable. In light of the pop star's brave confession, iHeartRadio spoke with Lupus Research Alliance President and CEO Ken Farber about what it means for the pop titan to back up her awareness for the chronic autoimmune disease on her biggest platform yet.

"For the last 24 hours, our phones have been ringing off the hook and our web traffic is through the roof," Farber told iHeartRadio via phone on Friday afternoon (September 15). "It's not an exaggeration to say that Selena has done more for Lupus awareness in the last 24 hours than [anyone] has probably done for Lupus awareness in the last 24 years."

During talk about Gomez's influence beyond the pop music realm, Farber gave the singer props for going the extra mile to be vulnerable about her health. "It's very courageous to come out and talk about your illness in front of hundreds of millions of people," he explained.

As per Farber, 90% of the individuals with Lupus are female. Generally speaking, the autoimmune disease is typically diagnosed in women of child bearing age during the 18 to 35 years. Additionally, women of African American and Hispanic heritage are also more prone to the illness than the background population. Still, despite the high figure, the Lupus Research Alliance CEO believes that they are close to finding new solutions to the illness. "We are on the cusp of developing new therapies for Lupus that are much safer and much more effective than the therapies that are already available," he added.

Gomez's announcement arrived on Thursday when she revealed her transplant to her 127 million Instagram followers and thanked her friend/actress Francia Raisa, who made the courageous decision to give her the organ. In the confessional post, the pop star sent sweet words to Raisa, writing, "There aren't words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa. She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me. I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much sis. Lupus continues to be very misunderstood but progress is being made."

Click here for more information on the Lupus Research Alliance.

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