Selena Gomez: 'It was life-or-death before my kidney transplant'

Selena Gomez was in a "life-or-death" situation before undergoing a kidney transplant earlier this year (17).

The 25-year-old singer suffers from lupus, and was told by doctors she would need to find a kidney donor after complications of the disease left her incredibly ill. Selena turned to her best friend Francia Raisa, who was a match, and the pair had their operations this summer.

The Wolves singer opened up about the scary situation as she spoke to the audience at the Lupus Research Alliance Annual Gala in New York on Monday night (21Nov17), admitting things were a lot worse than she had led her fans to believe.

"I am really honored to be here with all of you guys tonight, my lupus community. As many of you know, or might now know, I was diagnosed with lupus about five or six years ago,” Selena explained.

"I’ve been speaking out about my situation to raise awareness about the disease. After undergoing so many tests to monitor my kidneys my doctors told me I have lupus nephritis, one of those complications from lupus. They said I would be needing a kidney transplant."

Hinting that she may have delayed the procedure before realizing the seriousness of the situation, Selena added: "Maybe I wasn’t necessarily really good at knowing what that meant so it actually got to a point where it was life-or-death. Thankfully, one of my best friends gave me her kidney and it was the ultimate gift of life. And I am doing quite well now."

Selena has been easing herself back into the spotlight in recent days. She attended the American Music Awards on Sunday, where she performed her new track Wolves, and looked stunning in an asymmetric yellow dress which complemented her newly-dyed blonde hair as she posed for photographers at the lupus gala on Monday night.