Actress Bijou Phillips has made a public appeal for assistance in a serious medical situation, reports Baltimore Chronicle via Instagram. The “Almost Famous” star shared on social media on Wednesday that she is in urgent need of a kidney transplant due to complications following her previous surgery.
Phillips explained that she was born with underdeveloped kidneys and spent the first three months of her life in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) undergoing dialysis. In 2017, she received a kidney transplant from a close friend, which allowed her to spend eight meaningful years with her daughter. However, she has faced multiple post-transplant complications, including infection with the BK virus, which led to both cellular and antibody rejection of the transplanted organ.
The BK virus, also referred to as polyomavirus, is commonly acquired in childhood and remains latent in many individuals. According to the National Kidney Foundation, it can reactivate in patients with compromised immune systems after a kidney transplant, potentially causing kidney dysfunction. Symptoms may include vision changes, altered urine color, pain or difficulty while urinating, increased urination frequency, breathing issues, fever, and muscle pain.
Phillips revealed that she has returned to dialysis treatment as a consequence of her current kidney problems. “Please help me find a living donor so that I can have more time with my daughter, family, and friends,” she wrote on Instagram. She emphasized the urgency of the situation and included a link to a Google form in her Instagram bio to collect information from potential donors.
ABC News has reached out to Phillips’ representatives for additional details regarding her health status.
Bijou Phillips was previously married to former “That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson, who received a 30-years-to-life sentence in 2023 after being convicted of raping two women. Following his conviction, Phillips filed for divorce, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. The couple shares one daughter.
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