Bijou Phillips faces one of the toughest battles of her life.
In a rare and emotional interview, the 45-year-old model and actress revealed she is “hanging by a thread” as her urgent search for a kidney donor continues.
Phillips, who is currently undergoing dialysis at UCLA Health’s CORE Kidney Program, admitted that she has been waiting for a transplant for more than a year.
“I’ve needed a transplant for a year. I’m hanging by a thread,” she said. Us every week.
Born with underdeveloped kidneys, Phillips previously received a life-saving transplant from a friend in 2017.
But nearly a decade later, that kidney is failing.
“The medications you take during the transplant are very toxic to the kidneys,” she explained.
“So when you get a heart transplant, a liver transplant, a kidney transplant, in a decade you’ll probably need a kidney transplant.”
THE Almost Famous The star recognized the precariousness of her situation. “I could survive on dialysis for a few years, or I could get an infection in my line tomorrow and be gone in a few days,” she said.
“I’m really hopeful, [but] This is an extremely urgent situation.
Beyond her own health, Phillips says her fight is fueled by her devotion to her 12-year-old daughter, Fianna, whom she shares with ex-husband Danny Masterson.
“Now I’m a single mother and things are different,” she said. “I want to be there for her, and I have to be there for her. The fight is back. I am. I’m all she has.”
