In 2017, pop star Selena Gomez stunned the world by revealing she had undergone a kidney transplant due to complications from her long battle with the autoimmune disease Lupus. The organ was donated by her best friend, actress Francia Raísa, in a monumental act of friendship. However, the initial three-hour surgery was followed by a terrifying and life-threatening medical emergency that tested the limits of her doctors and shattered the composure of her mother, Mandy Teefey.
The Disaster: A Broken Artery and Near-Death
Just hours after the initial transplant surgery, Selena Gomez suffered a severe complication that put her life in immediate jeopardy.
The complication, which she had described as one of her kidneys having “flipped” inside her body, was even more severe. As donor Francia Raísa later revealed, the donated kidney was highly active, and when it turned, it broke an artery. This trauma triggered intense pain and an urgent medical crisis, as blood flow to the new organ was compromised. This was the moment the transplant spiraled.
The Emergency Surgery: Doctors had to rush Gomez back into the operating room for a second, immediate, and much longer surgery. The normal kidney transplant takes approximately two to three hours; Gomez’s emergency procedure lasted a grueling six hours. The situation was dire, with Raísa stating simply: “She could have died.”
The Life-Saving Fix: To stabilize the new kidney and re-establish proper blood flow, the surgical team performed a complex, specialized procedure. They had to get a vein from her leg and skillfully use it to build a new artery to keep the kidney securely in place and functional. Doctors had to steal veins from her leg in a last-second fight to save her life.
Mandy Teefey: The Mother’s Collapse
While Selena was fighting for her life in the operating room, her mother, Mandy Teefey, endured hours of agonizing uncertainty. Teefey later described the experience as one of the hardest things any parent could face, especially when complicated by the initial success turning into a disaster.
Mandy Teefey’s reaction, which she openly shared on social media, was one of pure, helpless terror. The mother collapsed in the hallway as the surgery turned into disaster.
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The Fear: She confessed to feeling “helpless” and “scared,” stating that for a while, she didn’t know if they were “going up or going down” (medically).
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The Location: In her panic and protective “Mama Bear” mode, Teefey admitted to running constantly between the different hospital towers where her daughter and Raísa were recovering, joking: “I am pretty sure I am banned from that hospital. Mama Bear was in high gear.” She admitted to “yelling and freaking out” in her distress.
Teefey’s experience highlights the immense emotional toll the crisis took on the family, transforming the hallway of the hospital into a space of sheer terror as she faced the terrifying possibility of losing her daughter.
Related Notable Events: The Battle with Lupus
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The Diagnosis: Selena Gomez publicly revealed her diagnosis of Lupus—an autoimmune disease where the body attacks its own tissues and organs—in 2015. The disease had severely damaged her kidneys, necessitating the transplant.
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The Scars of Survival: Gomez has openly shared photos of her post-surgery scars, turning the physical marks of her ordeal into a powerful symbol of survival and resilience for her fans who also struggle with chronic illness.
The use of a leg vein to create a new artery was a last-minute medical act of genius that saved Selena Gomez’s life, but the emotional distress and near-collapse of her mother in the hospital speaks volumes about the human drama that unfolded behind the scenes of the pop star’s recovery.