Bijou Phillips and her family are keeping their hopes up following her hospitalization for kidney disease.
A source exclusively tells Us Weekly that while Phillips, 45, is “awake” and “aware of what is going on,” her condition remains “dire.”
Phillips “started dialysis” on Tuesday, February 10, the insider adds, noting that there is “natural wear on her other kidney” and she has “had issues for years.” (Phillips received her first kidney transplant in 2017.)
According to the insider, Phillips’ friends and family members “have gone through the process” to see if they’re a match to donate a kidney but were unsuccessful. While “there are no prospective donors right now,” Phillips and her loved ones are “optimistic” about the chances of finding a match in the next “couple months.”
Amid her health struggles, she has received support from sisters Chyna and Mackenzie Phillips as well as friends Nikki and Paris Hilton, per the source.
Bijou took to Instagram on Wednesday, February 11, to share that she was in the hospital and in need of a second kidney transplant.
“I’m asking as a friend, a sister, an aunt, and, most importantly, a single mother to an incredible and brave daughter. I am in need of a kidney,” Bijou wrote while adding that she was “born with underdeveloped kidneys and spent the first three months of life in the NICU on dialysis.”
Bijou explained that a “dear friend” donated a kidney to her in 2017 but she has since experienced complications.
“That transplant gave me 8 precious years to be a mother to my daughter — but I have had many complications since, including the BK virus which led to both a cellular and antibody rejection,” she continued. “I am currently under care of Dr Anjay Rastogi at UCLA and back on dialysis.”
According to the National Kidney Foundation, BK virus is a common virus that has similar symptoms as a cold. Once a person has a BK virus infection, the virus stays in the system for good. It typically remains inactive if a person undergoes a kidney transplant it can reawaken the virus due to the use of anti-rejection medicines. The virus can damage the new kidney and cause the body to reject the organ.
“Please help me find a living donor so that I can have more time with my daughter, family, and friends,” Bijou, who is mom to 12-year-old daughter Fianna, wrote on Tuesday. “Time is of the essence.”
In the years following her transplant, Bijou found love with boyfriend Jamie Mazur while living on her farm in Santa Ynez, California. A source told Us in November 2025 that the pair, who are “free spirits and very laid back” have a romance that is “low-key and easy.”
With Mazur also a father to daughter Anja, 18, and son Noah, 14, with ex Alessandra Ambrosio, the duo have a pressure-free relationship that allows them to put their kids first.
‘There’s no pressure or serious commitment, and they enjoy spending time together when it fits into their lives,” the source told Us at the time.
Read the full article here
