Selena Gomez Had A Kidney Transplant Due To Lupus—And Her Best Friend Was The Donor

While Selena Gomez was giving back this week to Hand in Hand, helping to raise money for victims of Hurricane Harvey, none of her fans knew she was still recovering from a life-saving operation. Gomez kept silent about the surgery until revealing to her 126 million followers on Instagram that she'd undergone a kidney transplant this summer.

The pop star revealed in 2015 that she has lupus, an autoimmune disease that can affect the joints, organs, and tissues of the body. Though Gomez underwent chemotherapy in an effort to put the disease into remission, it didn't stop it from damaging her kidneys. Amazingly, the singer's best friend, The Secret Life Of The American Teenager's Francia Raisa, was a match and donated her kidney to save Gomez's life.

Raisa, took to her own Instagram account to express her gratitude to God for trusting her with "something that not only saved a life but changed mine in the process."

The actresses met in 2007 when they visited a children's hospital at the request of Disney and ABC Family (now Freeform). They have remained close ever since, seeing each other through the heartaches and the ups and downs of life, including Gomez's public break-up with Justin Bieber.

In 2012, Raisa called Gomez her sister in a 2012 interview with Wetpaint.

“I love her to death. She’s my sister and she is one of the sweetest girls I know. She is so caring and so loving and so nurturing. She’s awesome. I don’t know where she came from.”

And in a July 2016 Instagram post, Raisa said "I am obsessed with every memory we've built in the past eight years and the ones we have yet to create."

Fortunately, the two best friends will have plenty of opportunities to create those memories!

[Sources: USA Today,People, Wetpaint]