Bijou Phillips says she received a kidney transplant after donor search

Bijou Phillips said she has received a kidney transplant after making a public appeal for a donor earlier this year. The update matters because Phillips had said four months ago that she urgently needed the operation and was “hanging on by a thread,” according to NBC News.

Phillips, 46, posted Tuesday night on Instagram from the hospital and said the surgery was successful, NBC News reported. She wrote that a voucher program had found her a “perfect match,” adding that the match was so close it felt as if the kidney had come from one of her parents.

In the post, Phillips thanked Dr. Jeffrey Veale, nurses and other staff at UCLA Health. She credited them with making the transplant as easy and pain-free as possible.

Phillips also said she was feeling better five days after the operation than she had months after a previous surgery. She described Veale’s technique as “brilliant” and called him a lifesaver in the Instagram post.

Phillips said her brother took part in the donor effort through a kidney exchange. According to her post, his donation saved another person’s life, while the exchange helped Phillips receive the kidney she needed.

She also thanked people who responded after she went public with her need for a transplant. Phillips wrote that she was grateful to those who moved quickly to be checked as potential donors.

NBC News identified Phillips as the daughter of John Phillips, a founder of the Mamas & the Papas, and as the half-sister of MacKenzie Phillips and Chynna Phillips. She is also a socialite and model, NBC News reported.

Phillips is the former wife of actor Danny Masterson, according to NBC News. Her transplant update came months after her public request drew attention to her medical need and to kidney donation programs that can connect patients with compatible organs through exchanges.

This story draws on original reporting from NBC News Health.