ROAD TO RECOVERY
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Why did Selena Gomez get a kidney transplant?
Back in 2015, revealed she had contracted lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease that causes a healthy body to attack itself.
Hearing her diagnosis made her feel "equal parts terrified and relieved," she said in an acceptance speech upon receiving the 2019 McLean Award from McLean Hospital in .
Lupus wrongly prompts the body to attack healthy organs.
The immune system creates excessive amounts of antibodies that attach themselves to different parts of the body, which cause inflammation and pain.
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It can cause damage to joints, kidneys, heart, lungs, blood vessels, and the brain.
In 2016 the singer suffered a period of panic attacks, anxiety and depression which she linked to her disease.
She was forced to undergo a kidney transplant in 2017, two years after her initial diagnosis.
When did Selena Gomez get a kidney transplant?
Selena underwent her transplant in June 2017, .
She is one of a handful of celebrities who are fighting "the invisible illness."
Toni Braxton, Kelle Bryan, , Seal, and have all similarly revealed that they're fighting lupus.
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Who gave Selena Gomez her kidney?
In a 2017 Instagram post, Selena revealed that her good friend and actress Francia Raisa donated a kidney to her.
Selena said: “She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me. I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much sis.”
On the Today show, Francia revealed: "[Selena] goes, ‘I don’t know what to do, the [donor wait] list is seven to 10 years long. And it just vomited out of me. I was like, ‘Of course I’ll get tested.’"
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Selena said: "She lived with me in this interesting time where my kidneys were just done.
"That was it. I didn’t want to ask a single person in my life.
"The thought of asking somebody to do that was really difficult for me.
"She volunteered and did it – and let alone somebody 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."
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LATEST SELENA NEWS
Selena's former boyfriend wrote about her sickness in his song My Dear Melancholy.
Read More on The Sun
In the song, which was reportedly about the pair's breakup, he wrote, "I almost cut a piece of myself for your life" – as Selena desperately sought a donor at the time of her transplant.
Allegedly, he rescheduled his tour dates around her operation so he could be present for her recovery.
Selena Gomez reveals she suffers from bipolar disorder and was diagnosed in a psychiatric hospital
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