Selena Gomez has been given the gift of life from her best friend. 
 
 The 25-year-old singer revealed that the reason she quietly stepped back from her career over the summer was because she was recovering from a kidney transplant. 
 
 Get push notifications with news, features and more. 
 
 “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,” Gomez captioned the Instagram post. “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.” 
 
 Selena Gomez Instagram 
 
 The “Hands to Myself” singer also shared that the donor was her longtime pal Francia Raisa, an actress best known for her role in The Secret Life of the American Teenager. 
 
 Gomez shared a photo of the friends holding hands from their hospital beds as well as photos of her stomach following the surgery. 
 
 “There aren’t words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa,” said Gomez. “She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me. I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much sis.” 
 
 Selena Gomez Instagram 
 
 Selena Gomez/Instagram 
 
 In an October 2015 interview with Billboard, Gomez revealed that she was diagnosed with lupus and was undergoing chemotherapy for the autoimmune disease. 
 
 In August 2016, Gomez took a career break after suffering from “anxiety, panic attacks and depression” due to her lupus diagnosis. 
 
 “As many of you know, around a year ago I revealed that I have lupus, an illness that can affect people in different ways. I’ve discovered that anxiety, panic attacks and depression can be side effects of lupus, which can present their own challenges,” she said in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE. 
 
 “I want to be proactive and focus on maintaining my health and happiness and have decided that the best way forward is to take some time off. Thank you to all my fans for your support. You know how special you are to me, but I need to face this head on to ensure I am doing everything possible to be my best. I know I am not alone by sharing this, I hope others will be encouraged to address their own issues.” 
 
 RELATED VIDEO: Selena Gomez Taking Time Off After Dealing with ‘Anxiety, Panic Attacks and Depression’ Due to Her Lupus Diagnosis 
 
 Gomez told Billboard in December 2016 that she decided to go public with her diagnosis because she wanted to be an advocate for the disease. 
 
 “I waited for the right time to talk about it because I am in a great place, and I’m very healthy,” she said. “I’m not trying to be loud about it: It was time to use my platform to help.” ||||| Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) 
 
 Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) 
 
 Selena Gomez has a new kidney from a longtime friend. 
 
 “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,” the “Bad Liar” singer wrote on Instagram Thursday. “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.” 
 
 Gomez, 25, thanked her doctors, family, friends and medical personnel for their care, but her biggest gratitude was for her best friend, dancer and actress Francia Raisa, who actually donated her kidney. 
 
 “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,” the former Disney star gushed. “I am incredibly blessed. I love you so much sis.” 
 
 Gomez has been open about her struggle with the autoimmune disease before. In October 2015, she revealed that she underwent chemotherapy to treat the illness, and she took a break from the spotlight to go to a Tennessee rehabilitation center in August 2016 to deal with anxiety and depression reportedly caused by her lupus. ||||| Selena Gomez Underwent Kidney Transplant Best Friend Donor 
 
 Selena Gomez Underwent Kidney Transplant, Donor Best Friend Francia Raisa 
 
 Selena Gomez underwent a kidney transplant this summer, and the donor was her best friend. 
 
 Selena posted this pic post-surgery of her and kidney donor Francia Raisa. She said, "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." 
 
 Selena goes on ... "So I found out I need to get a kidney transplant due to my Lupus and was recovering. It was what I needed to do for my overall health." 
 
 And then she thanks her friend ... "There aren't words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa. She gave me the ultimate gift." ||||| Selena Gomez is seeking treatment after suffering an emotional breakdown while in the hospital, a source confirms to PEOPLE. 
 
 The 26-year-old “Wolves” singer was hospitalized twice within the last few weeks, both times for a low white blood cell count, which can be a side effect for kidney transplant patients. 
 
 Get push notifications with news, features and more. 
 
 During her second visit, Gomez suffered a panic attack. “She has had a tough few weeks and the panic attack in the hospital was the tipping point,” a source tells PEOPLE. 
 
 “She realized she needed to seek additional help for her ongoing emotional issues. She’s surrounded by close family and has a lot of support. She’s doing better now and is seeking treatment on the East Coast.” 
 
 The singer is undergoing dialectical behavior therapy, a therapy method designed to help try to identify, and then change, negative thinking and behavioral patterns, the source says. 
 
 Selena Gomez Angela Weiss/Getty 
 
 The news, which was first reported by TMZ, came a few weeks after Gomez announced that she is taking a break from social media. 
 
 “As much as I am grateful for the voice that social media gives each of us, I am equally grateful to be able to step back and live my life present to the moment I have been given. Kindness and encouragement only for a bit! Just remember— negative comments can hurt anybody’s feelings. Obvi,” Gomez added. 
 
 Around this same time last year, Gomez shocked fans by revealing that, due to lupus complications, she’d received a kidney transplant from her best friend Francia Raisa over the summer. 
 
 Gomez and Raisa, 30, opened up about the process during an interview with Today in October 2017. “My kidneys were just done,” Gomez told Savannah Guthrie. “That was it, and I didn’t want to ask a single person in my life.” 
 
 RELATED: Selena Gomez Says Depression and Anxiety Is a ‘Battle’ She Will Face for the ‘Rest of My Life’ 
 
 Selena Gomez Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic 
 
 “The thought of asking someone to do that was really difficult for me. She volunteered and did it. And let alone someone wanting to volunteer, it is incredibly difficult to find a match. The fact that she was a match, I mean that’s unbelievable. That’s not real,” Gomez continued. 
 
 Raisa was sharing a house with Gomez when she realized how weak her friend was becoming. 
 
 “One day she came home and she was emotional. I hadn’t asked anything. I knew she hadn’t been feeling well,” the Grown-ish actress said. “She couldn’t open a water bottle one day. She chucked it and she started crying. And I said, ‘What’s wrong?’ and that’s when she told me. And she goes, ‘I don’t know what to do. The list is seven to 10 years long.'” 
 
 Raisa continued, “It just vomited out of me: I was like, ‘Of course I’ll get tested.'” 
 
 Raisa explained that because they were in an “emergency situation,” she completed her testing in a day — a process that usually takes about six months. 
 
 Selena Gomez and Francia Raisa Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic 
 
 The recovery process was tough. The women were unable to do anything, from putting on underwear to taking a shower, without assistance. Gomez also said that they were on bed rest and only allowed to walk for an hour each day. 
 
 Raisa said the experience brought them even closer. “I am beyond grateful that God would trust me with something that not only saved a life, but changed mine in the process,” she said. 
 
 Gomez has been open about her battle with lupus for several years, and first revealed in 2015 that she’d undergone chemotherapy to treat the disease. Lupus causes the immune system to attack its own organs and tissues and can affect the whole body. 
 
 According to the Lupus Foundation of America, about half of all cases of systemic lupus affect a major organ such as the heart, lung, kidneys or brain. In some cases, it can take years for the disease to be diagnosed and properly treated. ||||| Selena Gomez is living her best life as she steps back from the glare of social media. 
 
 On Sunday, the “It Ain’t Me” singer, 26, shared a fresh-faced Instagram along with an announcement that she intends to take a social media hiatus. In the photo, which she dubbed a “mood,” Gomez flashed a big smile as she leaned her chin in her hand and gazed into a mirror. 
 
 Get push notifications with news, features and more. 
 
 “Update: taking a social media break. Again,” she captioned the image. “As much as I am grateful for the voice that social media gives each of us, I am equally grateful to be able to step back and live my life present to the moment I have been given. Kindness and encouragement only for a bit!” 
 
 She added, “Just remember- negative comments can hurt anybody’s feelings. Obvi.” 
 
 RELATED: Selena Gomez Bejewels the Word ‘Ugly’ in Her Hair – Here’s Who She’s Clapping Back At 
 
 After a fan commented “so glad to see u so HAPPY recently,” Gomez replied, “best I’ve ever been!” 
 
 Selena Gomez's Instagram comment. Selena Gomez/Instagram 
 
 Gomez has been through many ups and downs in the past few years — especially in 2017, when the star, who has battled lupus, received a kidney transplant from her friend Francia Raisa. This month, Gomez’s ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber secretly married model Hailey Baldwin. 
 
 Selena Gomez and Francia Raisa Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic 
 
 RELATED VIDEO: Peyton List Looks Up to Selena Gomez as a Role Model: ‘She Is So Down to Earth.’ 
 
 In 2017, Gomez opened up to TIME Firsts about the downsides of social media. “It’s already difficult to get up every day and just feel good about yourself without seeing the highlights of everyone else,” Gomez said. 
 
 RELATED: Selena Gomez Says ‘Amazing’ Taylor Swift Is Her ‘Big Sister’: ‘I Tell Her Everything’ 
 
 She continued, “Strength doesn’t mean that you have to put on a facade. I think strength is being vulnerable. I hope my fans learn that who they are is beautiful [and] how they can connect with people by sharing what they’re feeling.”
– TMZ has the scoop on why Selena Gomez was largely absent from the public eye over the summer—and it didn't have anything to do with Justin Bieber or any other petty drama that TMZ is often known for exposing. The singer revealed Thursday morning via an Instagram post that she hadn't been out promoting her new music because she was healing after a kidney transplant, which was necessitated by her lupus. The kidney donor shown holding hands with Gomez from their hospital beds in the accompanying pic: Francia Raisa, deemed Gomez's "best friend" by TMZ and other outlets. "There aren't words to describe how I can possibly thank my beautiful friend Francia Raisa," Gomez wrote. "She gave me the ultimate gift and sacrifice by donating her kidney to me." BuzzFeed and People note Gomez has been open in the past about her struggle with the chronic autoimmune disease, which can result in the inflammation of different organs, including the kidneys. That openness carried through on Instagram, where the 25-year-old not only posted the pic of herself and Raisa, but also a couple of images showing her post-surgery, including the scar she now sports across her abdomen. Gomez also included a link to the Lupus Research Alliance for those interested in more information about this "misunderstood" disease. "I am incredibly blessed," Gomez wrote on Instagram, adding to Raisa: "I love you so much sis."