Selena Gomez, who has been suffering from the autoimmune disease Lupus for years, took to Instagram on Thursday to reveal that she had undergone a kidney transplant away from the public eye.
Gomez said the transplant was the reason she had been “laying low for part of the summer” and not promoting her new music.
“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,” she wrote.
She thanked her friend Francia Raisa for providing her a kidney and called it “the ultimate gift and sacrifice”. She posted a photo of herself and Raisa in hospital gowns, holding each other’s hands.
“I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much sis,” she wrote.
Gomez first opened up about having Lupus in 2015. Last year, she cancelled her Dubai concert and several other tour dates citing Lupus’ psychological side-effects.
This month, she was announced as one of 46 women profiled by Time magazine for being influential.
