Francia Raisa has revealed she’s been living with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome after donating one of her kidneys to Selena Gomez in 2017. She made the revelation in a Monday, August 7, Instagram Story while congratulating friend Candice Craig for her book, Living With PCOS: Road to Reversal.
While showing a video from the book launch brunch, Francia, 35, was seen celebrating the release with other pals while writing, “My friend wrote a book about PCOS.” In another post she added, “I also have PCOS and still learning how to live with it.” It’s unclear when Francia received her diagnosis.
According to the Mayo Clinic, PCOS occurs when “small sacs of fluid develop along the outer edge of the ovary” known as cysts. “The small fluid-filled cysts contain immature eggs. These are called follicles. The follicles fail to regularly release eggs.” In addition to making getting pregnant more difficult, PCOS can cause irregular periods, with some lasting for up to nine days while others occurring more than a month apart.
Other stars who have spoken out about their diagnosis with PCOS include Lea Michele, Keke Palmer and Jillian Michaels.
Francia made headlines in 2017 when she donated a kidney in a life-saving procedure for longtime friend Selena. She detailed how her recovery was far more difficult that it was for the “Wolves” singer.
“It’s harder as the donor because we are losing something our body didn’t need to lose, so [I was] trying to recover from that [while] she’s gaining something her body needed,” she explained in a February 2018 interview with Harry Connick Jr., calling the experience “very humbling” as she was unable to take care of herself.
“I basically have four scars. It was laparoscopic. I couldn’t get up without having someone help me … I couldn’t take a shower by myself, I had to have someone help me because I couldn’t move,” the Fired Up! star revealed.
“Well, so our surgery was in June, our fans didn’t find out about it until September. We wanted that privacy. It was a big surgery,” Francia continued. “[Selena] felt bad about even having me do that because we are just friends, I am not her family or anything. Well, I am now. She has my blood.”
Francia and Selena kept news of the transplant secret for three months until the “Lose You to Love Me” songstress revealed the surgery in a September 2017 Instagram post. She wrote, “There aren’t words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa,” featuring a photo of them holding hands and lying down in hospital beds. “She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me. I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much, sis.”
Francia and Selena had been best friends since childhood when they both starred on Disney Channel shows. Due to the Only Murders in the Building star’s battle with Lupus, she needed a new kidney and her pal happened to be a perfect match.
The Life-Size 2 star shot down rumors she felt pressured to give Selena one of her kidneys in an August 1, 2023, interview. “I just felt it in my heart. I knew it was a match, I knew it was going to happen. No one forced me to do anything,” Francia said on an episode of the “Good Guys” podcast, adding, “It came out of the genuine kindness of my heart. I have been super blessed ever since.”
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