Bijou Phillips is hospitalized in Los Angeles and has sent out a public plea for help in finding a donor kidney.
“I need help finding a kidney,” Phillips posted on Instagram Wednesday morning. “I’m asking as a friend, a sister, an aunt and, most importantly, a single mother to an incredible and brave daughter. I am in need of a kidney.”
Per a rep for the actress, Phillips was born with an acute kidney disorder. She received a kidney transplant from a friend in 2017, however that kidney has failed and led to serious health challenges in recent times (including BK virus, which can be acute for kidney patients). Her rep confirmed TMZ’s initial report that she’s hospitalized at UCLA Health in Los Angeles where she’s receiving dialysis while she waits for a living donor.
She is said to be stable at this time while she’s being treated by Dr. Anjay Rastogi at CORE Kidney at UCLA Health. The CORE Kidney program at UCLA Health is described as “a patient advocacy and support program based on our founding principles of clinical excellence, outreach, research and education.” The department’s focus is integrative medicine with emphasis on prevention and education.
In her post, Phillips shared a link to a living donor form as she searches for potential matches. Her Instagram post has already been shared far and wide, and received comments from friends like fashion designer Stacey Bendet who wrote, “Bijou! We are all here for you and love you so much!!!! Sharing this now!!!!”
Phillips has one daughter, Fianna Francis, whom she had with ex-husband Danny Masterson, who remains behind bars following a rape conviction.
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