Selena Gomez Reveals a Surprise Kidney Transplant Surgery on Instagram

Selena Gomez made a shockingly candid announcement on Instagram Thursday morning: the 25-year-old star revealed that she had a kidney transplant earlier this year and has been recovering away from the public eye.

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 Sep 14, 2017 at 3:07am PDT

Gomez shared a picture of herself in a hospital bed, holding hands with long-time friend Francia Raisa. The caption says that she knows fans noticed she was laying low for the summer, and might be questioning why she wasn’t promoting her new music. She admits in the caption to needing a kidney transplant due to her lupus, Vogue writes. The Instagram post also shows pictures of her scars, and she thanked her family and the “incredible team of doctors” for everything they have done.

The young star also acknowledged that she received the kidney transplant from Raisa, and wrote “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,” Vogue reports.

Raisa shared a picture of the two of them back in July for Gomez’s birthday.

Feliz cumpleaños a mi hermana, My forever friend ❤️

A post shared by Francia Raísa (@franciaraisa) on Jul 22, 2017 at 9:09pm PDT

Gomez has struggled with the autoimmune disease for years. She had to cancel her worldwide concert tour after suffering major side effects from lupus, such as depression, panic attacks and anxiety.