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Actress Bijou Phillips publicly appealed for a kidney donor Wednesday, revealing she is once again battling kidney disease.
“I need help finding a kidney,” the Almost Famous star wrote in an Instagram post accompanied by photos of herself and her 11-year-old daughter, Fianna. She continued, “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.”
In a post titled “My story,” Phillips, 45, explained she was born with underdeveloped kidneys and spent her first three months in the neonatal intensive care unit on dialysis. She received a kidney transplant in 2017 from a friend, which provided eight years of motherhood, but has since experienced complications.
Phillips has been contending with BK virus, a common virus typically fought off by individuals with healthy immune systems. However, kidney transplant recipients are particularly vulnerable to reactivation of the virus due to anti-rejection medication, according to the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. Symptoms can include fever, seizures, and muscle fatigue.
“I am currently under the care of Dr. Anjay Rastogi at UCLA and back on dialysis,” Phillips wrote. “Please help me find a living donor so that I can have more time with my daughter, family, and friends. Time is of the essence.”
Phillips initially revealed her need for a kidney transplant in 2017.
At the time, a representative stated Phillips had been leading a vegan, stress-free lifestyle in an effort to improve her health, but ultimately required dialysis. They also shared she had found a potential donor.
The transplant occurred two months later. Danny Masterson, from whom Phillips filed for divorce in September 2023 following his May conviction, shared a photo of the former couple holding hands in hospital beds after the surgery.
“My lady has been slowing dying for the past 7 years of an incurable kidney disease. She was given the gift of an encore by a tall angel. Our daughter will have a mother. We do not take lightly how incredibly fortunate we are. 100% successful transplant,” he wrote.
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The daughter of Mamas & The Papas singer-songwriter John Phillips and South African singer Geneviève Waïte, Phillips rose to prominence as a New York City “it girl,” appearing on the cover of Interview Magazine in 1994 at age 13. She later gained recognition for her roles in films such as Almost Famous and Bully.
Friends and fans responded to Phillips’ Wednesday post with messages of support, including Paris Hilton, who wrote, “Love you so much sis. Sending you so much love, light, and strength,” and her sister Nicky, who simply wrote, “Love you Bij!”
