Bijou Phillips ‘beyond grateful’ for second kidney transplant months after public plea
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- Bijou Phillips said she manged to find a “perfect match” of a donor after her public plea for a new kidney in February.
- Phillips told followers earlier this year the replacement was necessary so “I can have more time with my daughter, family and friends.”
Bijou Phillips is recovering from a recent kidney transplant, feeling thankful for everyone involved in the procedure.
The “Almost Famous” actor-singer, 46, shared a glimpse of her recovery on Tuesday, posting photos of herself in a hospital bed on Instagram. Phillips said she manged to find a “perfect match” of a donor in the months since her public plea in February. Earlier this year she declared on Instagram, “I am in need of a kidney,” and stressed the urgency of locating a compatible donor.
“I am beyond beyond grateful to everyone who rushed into help me,” she wrote in her caption,”get checked to donate, you are all hero’s!”
In her Tuesday post, Phillips also detailed her procedure and the care she received from UCLA Health staff, specifically her “lifesaver” Dr. Jeffrey L. Veale.
Bijou Phillips says she is looking for a new kidney again after receiving one ‘from a dear friend’ in 2017. The actor is hospitalized and on dialysis.
Phillips was hospitalized in February. In her social media plea at the time, Phillips said she was born with an underdeveloped kidney. She previously received a kidney in 2017 “from a dear friend” but has faced “many complications since,” including the BK virus, she said at the time. National Kidney Foundation says the BK virus is common and usually inactive, but it can “wake up” when a person’s immune system is compromised — like after an organ transplant — and affect the success of the transplant. Phillips was placed back on dialysis as she awaited a transplant.
In February, Phillips told followers the replacement was necessary so “I can have more time with my daughter, family and friends.” On Tuesday, she shared photos of her friends and family, and a video of a loved one accompanying her as she walks through the hospital.
The 79-year-old former Hall & Oates rocker says he recently underwent a kidney transplant from ‘a very kind and generous living donor.’
Phillips shares a daughter with ex-husband Danny Masterson. Fianna Francis was born in 2014.
Masterson was convicted in 2023 of raping two former members of the Church of Scientology and was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison. He filed a petition to overturn the conviction last year. Phillips filed to divorce the “That ’70s Show” star after his sentencing.
Times staff writer Tracy Brown contributed to this report.
