Bijou Phillips hospitalized, seeking second kidney transplant

WASHINGTON — Actress Bijou Phillips is asking the public for help as she searches for a living kidney donor.

Phillips, 45, shared a plea from her hospital bed in an Instagram post on Feb. 11, writing that she is back on dialysis and needs a transplant as soon as possible.

“I need help finding a kidney,” she wrote. “I’m asking as a friend, a sister, an aunt, and most important, a single mother to an incredible and brave daughter.”

Phillips is best known for her work in film and television in the late 1990s and 2000s. She made her acting debut in 1999’s “Black and White” and later appeared in movies including “Almost Famous,” “Bully,” “The Door in the Floor,” “Havoc,” “Hostel: Part II” and “Choke.” She also had a recurring role as Lucy Carlyle on the sitcom “Raising Hope,” along with other TV appearances.

Phillips said she was born with underdeveloped kidneys and spent the first three months of her life in the NICU on dialysis. She previously received a kidney transplant in 2017 from a friend, which she said gave her “8 precious years” with her daughter.

But Phillips said she has faced complications since then, including the BK virus, which can affect transplant patients and contribute to rejection. She wrote that she experienced both cellular and antibody rejection.

Phillips said she is currently under the care of Dr. Anjay Rastogi at UCLA and urged anyone interested in donation to apply through a link in her bio.

“Time is of the essence,” she wrote.

Variety reported that a representative said Phillips is stable but in fragile condition and needs a donor soon.

Phillips shares one daughter, Fianna, with ex-husband Danny Masterson.