Selena Gomez had a kidney transplant due to complications from lupus, an autoimmune disease that damaged her kidneys, with her best friend Francia Raisa donating a kidney in 2017. The transplant was a critical step for her overall health, as lupus can severely affect kidney function, a condition known as lupus nephritis.
With a series of Instagram posts in September 2017, Selena Gomez shared that she'd undergone a kidney transplant at just 24, due to lupus-related organ damage.
Selena Gomez Reveals She Had a Kidney Transplant. Selena Gomez's battle with Lupus led to kidney failure. Francia Raisa's gift saved her life.
US singer Selena Gomez has revealed she underwent a kidney transplant as a result of lupus. She revealed her battle with the disease back in 2015, and took a break from her career last year to deal with anxiety and depression stemming from her diagnosis.
A kidney transplant can be an important and sometimes necessary option for someone with severe lupus kidney disease.
New Delhi: 'My kidneys were just done. And I was hit with a daunting reality that it takes years before an organ from a deceased donor becomes available. They said the waiting list is of 7-10 years,” says the 25-year-old singer Selena Gomez in her first interview since the transplant with US Television show Today.
Lupus can attack many different parts of the body. Some call it the cruel mystery. Lupus is an autoimmune disease that can strike any part of the body, but the wide range of symptoms can be easily mistaken for something else.
Psychological stress associated with exposure to trauma appears to boost the odds of women developing lupus, according to a study by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Brigham and Women's Hospital researchers. Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which skin, joints, and internal organs become inflamed.
Early signs of lupus often include extreme fatigue, joint pain/swelling, unexplained fever, and skin rashes, especially a butterfly-shaped rash on the face, but symptoms vary greatly and can develop slowly or suddenly, including hair loss, sun sensitivity, chest pain, and Raynaud's phenomenon (fingers/toes turning white/blue in cold). Because these symptoms mimic other conditions, seeing a doctor for persistent issues like headaches, mouth sores, or swelling is key for proper diagnosis.
Selena underwent a kidney transplant in 2017.
So I found out I needed to get a kidney transplant due to my Lupus and was recovering. It was what I needed to do for my overall health,” she captioned the post. “There aren't words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa.
Sunlight. Being in the sun may trigger lupus skin rash or other lupus symptoms. Infections. Having an infection can start lupus or cause some people to have a flare.
With modern medicine, most people with lupus (SLE) can expect a near-normal lifespan, with 85-90% surviving at least 10 years post-diagnosis, and many living much longer due to earlier diagnosis and better treatments, though complications like heart disease, infection, and kidney issues remain major concerns. Factors like age at diagnosis, disease severity, race, and treatment adherence significantly influence outcomes, but overall, lupus management has vastly improved survival rates.
My throat kind swells inside sometimes. That's all.” Fans have speculated over Selena's voice change throughout the years, with many wondering if the her Lupus diagnosis could be the underlying cause as the health condition is known to affect some's voice in certain cases.
Fatigue or extreme tiredness
The most common symptom of lupus is fatigue, which means feeling extremely tired. Fatigue can affect a person's physical and mental health and quality of life.
As the "You Said You Were Sorry" singer has shared, the medication she takes for her chronic autoimmune disorder, lupus, can cause her weight to fluctuate. "I would rather be healthy and take care of myself. My medications are important, and I believe that they're what helps me," Gomez has said.
Lupus causes
Genetic factors: Having certain genetic variations may make you more likely to have lupus. Hormones: Reactions to certain hormones in your body (especially estrogen) may make you more likely to develop lupus. Environmental factors: These are aspects about where you live, work or spend time.
The medicines used most often to manage lupus include:
Conclusion: We observed significantly increased risk of SLE among women who experienced childhood physical and emotional abuse compared with women who had not. Exposure to childhood adversity may contribute to SLE development.
Taylor Swift is a registered organ donor.
Gomez, who has been open about her mental and physical health struggles for years, revealed that a donated kidney will typically last about 30 years.
The three key early warning signs of kidney disease are changes in urination (more/less frequent, foamy, blood), persistent fatigue/low energy, and swelling (edema) in your hands, feet, or face, often from fluid buildup. Other signs include itchy skin, poor appetite, and high blood pressure, though symptoms can be subtle until later stages.
Responses from patients with SLE indicated prevalent diagnoses of depression (40%) and anxiety (42%), as well as neuropsychiatric symptoms thought to be due to SLE—brain fog (42%), headache (36%), anxiety (24%), and depression (21%).
Because symptoms present similarly to other ailments, your doctor may not test you for lupus. Many go through a process of elimination through testing for other causes of the symptoms first.
In conclusion, we have demonstrated that parasites like Hymenolepis microstoma, TPC and ES-62 from Acanthocheilonema viteae, Plasmodium chabaudi, Schistosoma mansoni, and Toxoplasma gondii have favorable immunomodulating effects on SLE outcomes in lupus-prone mice.