Bijou Phillips put an urgent call out to her fans this week, asking for their help in finding a kidney donor.
The “Raising Hope” actor shared an emotional post on Instagram Wednesday in which she revealed she was currently hospitalized in Los Angeles and in need of a kidney transplant.
“I need help finding a new kidney,” she wrote. “I’m asking as a friend, a sister, an aunt and, most importantly, a single mother to an incredible and brave daughter. I am in need of a kidney.”
Elsewhere in her post, Phillips explained that she was born with underdeveloped kidneys. She underwent a transplant in 2017 after receiving the “incredible gift of a kidney from a dear friend,” but has since experienced a series of health issues which “led to a cellular and antibody rejection.”
“Please help me find a living donor so that I can have more time with my daughter, family, and friends,” she wrote. “Time is of the essence.”
HuffPost reached out to an agent for Phillips seeking further clarification, but did not immediately hear back. TMZ, however, reported Thursday more than 1,000 prospective kidney donors had come forward as a result of the actor’s post, but that doctors had yet to determine a match.
Actor Bijou Phillips has confirmed she’s currently hospitalized in Los Angeles while awaiting a kidney transplant.
Robin L Marshall via Getty Images
Meanwhile, her half-sisters Chynna Phillips and Mackenzie Phillips had visited in the days since she was first hospitalized, according to the report.
Phillips is the daughter of late musician John Phillips, a founding member of the legendary 1960s pop group the Mamas & the Papas. She shares an 11-year-old daughter, Fianna Francis, with estranged husband Danny Masterson.
Masterson, a fellow actor best known for his portrayal of Steven Hyde in “That ’70s Show,” is currently serving a 30-year prison sentence after being convicted of raping two women.
Phillips’ health concerns first came to light in 2017, when the actor shared publicly that she’d been on a kidney transplant list for about five years.
“In an effort to heal her body she has led a stress-free life with a vegan diet, which eventually wasn’t enough and she’s been privately having dialysis,” a representative for the actor told People at the time. “She recently found out one of her friends is a match and is optimistic that she will have a transplant soon.”