Singer Selena Gomez has revealed that she has undergone a kidney transplant because of the lupus she suffers from. She recounted her experience on social media.
The pop star had been scarce since the summer. But it’s neither for her latest album, nor for her next film that Selena Gomez is making the headlines again. This summer, the young American underwent a kidney transplant. In question: the lupus from which she suffers. Spokeswoman for the disease, the singer made the announcement on her Instagram account in a long message.
It’s hard to go unnoticed when 123 million Internet users follow your daily activity. The absence of Selena Gomez was therefore noticed. But the 25-year-old singer does not hide it. As early as 2015, she revealed to be suffering from lupus. This autoimmune disease, still little known, is characterized by skin damage but also at the level of the organs. The kidney, in particular, can be severely damaged.
It is precisely this type of attack that the American singer suffered. Discovery that she details in an Instagram post. “I discovered that I needed a kidney transplant because of my lupus, and I was recovering,” she explains to explain her prolonged silence.
The artist can thank her friend, Francia Raisa, who poses in the photograph shared on social networks. It is, in fact, this young woman who donated her kidney for the transplant. “She gave me the best gift imaginable, she sacrificed herself by giving me her kidney,” writes Selena Gomez.
A call for donations
The singer also takes advantage of her experience to encourage her fans to help research. She invites them to make a donation to a association on lupus. The latter took the opportunity to relay the call for donations, in a grateful tweet.
We love Selena and support her, the Lupus Research Alliance is grateful for her support and we wish her well in her recovery. pic.twitter.com/6RtURL0TlR
– Lupus Research (@LupusResearch) September 14, 2017
Like many autoimmune diseases, lupus is characterized by the body’s aggression against itself. Its causes and mechanisms are still poorly identified, hence the interest in continuing research.
The Lupus Research Alliance is at the forefront of this. She is currently setting up a clinical trial which aims to limit kidney damage in patients. The objective: to facilitate the detection of nephritis using less invasive technologies, and to define the treatments that prevent the progression to renal failure.
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