Bijou Phillips has received a kidney transplant, months after a public appeal for a living donor. The actor and model confirmed on Instagram that her brother, Aron Wilson, was a match through a kidney exchange program, calling him her "perfect match."
"I am beyond beyond grateful to everyone who rushed into help me, get checked to donate, you are all hero’s! My wonderful brother donated in the kidney exchange!" Phillips wrote in a social media post. She also expressed gratitude to Dr. Jeffrey Veale and the medical staff at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Phillips had previously revealed in February that she was born with underdeveloped kidneys and had undergone a transplant in the past. She had explained at the time that she was seeking a living donor to spend more time with her daughter, family, and friends, describing the situation as "extremely urgent."
"I could make it on dialysis for a couple years, or I could get an infection in my line tomorrow and be gone in a few days," she told US Weekly in February, crediting her boyfriend, Jamie Mazur, and half-sisters Chynna Phillips and Mackenzie Phillips for their support.
Phillips is the daughter of the late musician John Phillips, a founding member of the 1960s group The Mamas & the Papas. She has a 12-year-old daughter, Fianna Francis, with estranged husband Danny Masterson. Masterson is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence after being convicted of raping two women.
Phillips first publicly shared her health concerns in 2017, stating she had been on a kidney transplant waiting list for approximately five years.