Bijou Phillips received a life-saving kidney transplant five months after being admitted to the hospital and starting dialysis in anticipation of finding a donor. Phillips announced the news on Instagram, expressing profound gratitude to those who helped facilitate the transplant.
"I am beyond beyond grateful to everyone who rushed into help me, get checked to donate, you are all hero’s!" Phillips wrote. She shared that her brother, Aron Wilson, donated a kidney through a kidney exchange program, which in turn led to a donor for her. "The kidney exchange, voucher program, and his surgical skills!!! He only cut the facia! He didn’t cut the muscles so I didn’t even really need much pain medication at all, just Tylenol!" she stated, praising her surgeon, Dr. Veale, at UCLA Health.
Phillips, 46, has a history of kidney issues, having been born with underdeveloped kidneys. She received a kidney transplant from a friend in 2017, but that organ eventually failed, necessitating another transplant. Her friends and family were not a match for her subsequent needs, and no immediate donors were found at that time. In February, her representative confirmed she was hospitalized at CORE Kidney at UCLA Health for dialysis.
During the period of waiting for a donor, Phillips described her condition as "hanging on by a thread," emphasizing her desire to remain alive for her 12-year-old daughter, Fianna. Phillips filed for divorce from her ex-husband, Danny Masterson, in September 2023, weeks after his sentencing for rape convictions.