Francia Raisa Says Selena Gomez 'Could Have Died' After Kidney Transplant

By James Dinh

March 9, 2018

Selena Gomez has shared gratitude and appreciation for her best friend Francia Raisa after the Grown-ish actress donated her kidney to the pop titan. Still, the organ transplant didn't go as seamless as we thought, as per Raisa's recent reveal to W Magazine.

In the new interview, the actress admitted that the 25-year-old did have "a complication" after the surgery and almost died. "A few hours after our surgery, I woke up and had a text from her that said, 'I'm really scared,'" Francia admitted. "My kidney was very active, and when it turned I broke an artery. They had to take her into emergency surgery and get a vein from her leg and build a new artery to keep my kidney in place. She could have died."

Gomez, who was diagnosed with lupus in 2013, was offered a kidney from Raisa to help her cope with the autoimmune disease. Even though she underwent the surgery in private, the pop star spoke out about the life-changing moment with fans on Instagram and Today during an October 2017 interview. 

“My kidneys were shutting down. My mentality was to keep going," she said on the morning show. “[Raisa] lived with me during this interesting time where my kidneys were just done. That was it, and I didn’t want to ask a single person in my life. The thought of asking someone to do that was really difficult for me. She volunteered and did it. And let alone someone wanting to volunteer, it is incredibly difficult to find a match. The fact that she was a match, I mean that’s unbelievable. That’s not real.”

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. I honestly look forward to sharing with you, soon my journey through these past several months as I have always wanted to do with you. Until then I want to publicly thank my family and incredible team of doctors for everything they have done for me prior to and post-surgery. And finally, 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. For more information regarding Lupus please go to the Lupus Research Alliance website: www.lupusresearch.org/ -by grace through faith

A post shared by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) on

Photo: Getty Images

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