Selena Gomez’s Friend Francia Raisa Opens Up About Donating Her Kidney
Selena Gomez shocked fans when she announced in a personal Instagram post that she had recently undergone a kidney transplant. Gomez’s friend Francia Raisa was the kidney donor, and her message about helping the singer — and others — is an emotional one.
“I am beyond grateful that God would trust me with something that not only saved a life, but changed mine in the process,” the Secret Life of the American Teenager actress wrote in her own Instagram post. She shared the same photo that Gomez used to make her announcement — a pic of the two girls in side-by-side hospital beds, hooked up to machines as they hold hands and smile at each other.
“This was part of our story, and we will share it soon,” she wrote. “But what is important now is that this is not the only story.”
Raisa then linked to the Lupus Research Alliance website, urging her followers to learn more about the autoimmune disease. Gomez shared the same link in her original post, noting that “Lupus continues to be very misunderstood but progress is being made.”
Gomez and Raisa have been friends since 2007, forming a bond at, of all places, a hospital. “Six years ago Disney and ABC Family had the stars of their shows go to the Children’s Hospital,” Raisa told Latina in 2013. “Selena and I were in the same group and we just clicked.”
Raisa ended her Instagram post about being a donor with a simple message for Gomez: “Love you sis, so glad we’re on this journey together.”
Have you ever thought about becoming a living organ donor? Let us know @BritandCo.
(Photo via Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Unlikely Heroes + Todd Williamson/WireImage)
