It's arguably the greatest gift anyone can receive: a life-saving organ via a transplant. And, like the 30,000 people a year who get an organ transplant, celebrities are not immune to needing help. On Sept. 14, Selena Gomez announced that in the summer of 2017, she got a kidney transplant, and her best friend was her donor. In an Instagram post, Selena shared an image from a hospital bed showing her holding hands with Francia Raisa, her donor. "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," she wrote. "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." Click through to see other celebrities who have received organ transplants.
Tracy Morgan got a kidney transplant in 2010 after suffering complications from diabetes. His donor was his ex-girlfriend Tanisha Hall. Yes, they were exes at the time, too! The comedian thanked her from the red carpet at the 2011 Screen Actors Guild awards, telling E! News, "I'd like to thank Tanisha for donating my kidney to me."
Sarah Hyland has battled kidney dysplasia nearly all her life, and in April 2012, she got a kidney transplant from her father. In 2012, she told Seventeen magazine, "You know that family is always going to be there for you – no matter what. My dad gave me a freakin kidney! But it's also the families that you create outside of your family. And you really find out what kind of people you're friends with. It was just amazing, and it really opened my eyes to see who's there for me and who's not." The "Modern Family" star later added, "I have a second chance at life – not a lot of people get that."
George Lopez needed a kidney transplant in 2005 and his then-wife, Ann, was there for him. She donated one of her kidneys to the comedian. "I was crying. I thanked her and I told her I loved her. I was more concerned about her than I was about myself," he told reporters in 2006. In 2010, he and Ann divorced.
In 2009, the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs received a liver transplant at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. He died two years later. A few years after his death, the hospital received an anonymous $40 million donation.
In the mid 90s, "Homeland" star Mandy Patinkin suffered from keratoconus, a degenerative eye disease that destroys the cornea over time. He ended up needing to get two corneal transplants — first in his right cornea in 1997, and another in his left cornea in 1998. "It's an extraordinary gift when somebody gives their eye to someone so someone else can see," he told CBS. "Let alone other organs to save a life. I could live if I was blind. People can't live without hearts, without lungs, without livers."
In March 2012, former Vice President Dick Cheney underwent a heart transplant after more than 20 months on a transplant list. His aide said in a statement at the time, "Although the former Vice President and his family do not know the identity of the donor, they will be forever grateful for this lifesaving gift."
The late Gary Coleman battled serious health issues for most of his life. He had a kidney transplant by the time he was 5 years old. The actor's kidney began to fail as he got older, and he reportedly had a second kidney transplant at 14 years old.
The late Natalie Cole underwent a kidney transplant after being diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 2008. When she got the call that a kidney was available, her sister was on her death bed. "I was getting good news and very bad news at the same time. This was a very joyous moment where I've got new life. It was also a very sorrowful moment, where my sister had gone on, and the family that donated the kidney had lost their daughter as well," Natalie told Access Hollywood in 2009. "My first reaction was that I wished I were back on dialysis to have my sister. These two people had left this earth— and I was here. Why? I feel like I don't deserve it."
Lucy Davis was diagnosed with kidney failure during a medical examination in 1995. Luckily, the "Wonder Woman" star received a transplant from her mother.
Paralympic star Amy Purdy has dealt with more health issues than most. At 19 years old, both her legs were amputated below the knee after she came down with bacterial meningitis. She had multiple organ failures, and the "Dancing With The Stars" alum had a kidney transplant from her father when she was 21 years old.
It was 1994 when legendary rock musician David Crosby underwent a seven-hour liver transplant operation. In 2014, after having heart surgery, he said, "It seems I am once again a very lucky man."
"Star Trek" alum Aron Eisenberg was on the waiting list for four months when he got a call that a family friend was a match for a kidney. That was Dec. 29, 2015. "It very difficult to express how big a gift of a kidney really is. It's huge!," he told StarTrek.com. "It's really another chance at living a normal life, of having the opportunities to live the life you want, to chase after your dreams, to be in the game."
Larry Hagman, who played oil baron J.R. Ewing on "Dallas," received a liver transplant in 1995 after a small tumor was discovered.