Bijou Phillips has issued an online plea to find a kidney donor after being hospitalized due to complications with her first transplant.
The model, 45, remains on dialysis in a Los Angeles hospital after her first kidney transplant — which was donated by a friend in 2017 — failed.
“I’m asking as a friend, a sister, an aunt, and most importantly, a single mother to an incredible and brave daughter,” Phillips shared in an Instagram post Wednesday. “I am in need of a kidney.”
She asked her 65,000 Instagram followers to fill out a brief questionnaire if they are interested in becoming a living donor, adding: “It will only take 15 seconds and can save a life.”
Throughout her career, Phillips has been public about her diagnosis with kidney disease after she was born with underdeveloped kidneys and spent the first three months of her life in the NICU.
Since her first transplant eight years ago, Phillips has faced complications, including the BK virus, which led to cellular and antibody rejection, she said.
She is currently in stable condition, but added that “time is of the essence” as the search for a donor continues.
“Please help me find a living donor so that I can have more time with my daughter, family, and friends,” Phillips wrote.
Her representatives did not immediately return The Independent’s request for comment.
Phillips is the single mother to her 11-year-old daughter Fianna Francis, who she shares with her ex-husband, Danny Masterson.
More to follow…