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Selena Gomez, the 25-year-old American singer, and actress has revealed on her Instagram that she received a kidney from her best friend, Francia Raisa, this summer. Two years ago, she was diagnosed with Lupus which is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks normal, healthy tissues and organs.

The Disney star also shared her post-transplant scars on Instagram with her fans.

I’m very aware some of my fans had noticed I was laying low for part of the summer and questioning why I wasn’t promoting my new music, which I was extremely proud of. So I found out I needed to get a kidney transplant due to my Lupus and was recovering. It was what I needed to do for my overall health. I honestly look forward to sharing with you, soon my journey through these past several months as I have always wanted to do with you. Until then I want to publicly thank my family and incredible team of doctors for everything they have done for me prior to and post-surgery. And finally, there aren’t words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa. She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me. I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much sis. Lupus continues to be very misunderstood but progress is being made. For more information regarding Lupus please go to the Lupus Research Alliance website: www.lupusresearch.org/ -by grace through faith

A post shared by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) on Sep 14, 2017 at 3:07am PDT

Kidneys are an important organ in the human body which remove toxins and extra fluid from the blood. A healthy person has two functioning kidneys of which they can donate one kidney without any effects on own health and life.

In the United States, about 45% of people are registered as organ donors. In Pakistan, there is a stigma surrounding donation of organs and 20,000 Pakistanis die of kidney failure every year. Hopefully, this news will raise some awareness regarding kidney failure in our society as well as for around the world.