'How I Met Your Father' star Francia Raisa donated her kidney to Selena Gomez in 2017.
Francia Raisa is getting candid about her reproductive health. After speaking with Vice President Kamala Harris about women's rights and health, the 35-year-old How I Met Your Father star, who donated her kidney to Selena Gomez in 2017, took to Instagram on Wednesday to talk about a recent health diagnosis that will greatly impact her future.
"In the past two weeks, things took a serious turn," shared Raisa, who revealed her Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) diagnosis in 2023. "After years of confusing symptoms and seeing several doctors and taking different tests to get no real answers, I found a new gynecologist who told me that I also have SIBO and endometriosis, which puts me at a very high risk of having complicated pregnancies in the future. I was in shock."
According to the Mayo Clinic, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) "occurs when there is an abnormal increase in the overall bacterial population in the small intestine -- particularly types of bacteria not commonly found in that part of the digestive tract." Endometriosis is "an often-painful condition in which tissue that is similar to the inner lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus."
Raisa expressed her concern over the lack of scientific research being done for "women's specific health care" and to "ensure our opportunity to have a healthy life and family."
She said these concerns led her to accept Harris' invitation to do a fireside chat in Arizona to discuss women's rights and reproductive freedoms as well as immigration. Raisa also got to ride back to Los Angeles on Air Force 2, posing in front of the vice president's plane.
"And thank you for the ride back to LA, Madame Vice President @kamalaharris! Much appreciated," she shared.
Raisa first went public with her battle with PCOS in August 2023, sharing that she was "still learning how to live with it."
While Raisa did not share specific details about her condition, Johns Hopkins Medicine calls PCOS a "common hormone problem for women of childbearing age" that can cause "missed or irregular menstrual periods, excess hair growth, acne, infertility and weight gain."
In addition to her activism and acting career, Raisa is also known donating her kidney to her friend, Selena Gomez, in 2017 amid the pop star's battle with lupus.
"It was a decision that was very faith-based and... she and I have talked about before," Raisa told ET in 2019. "It just kinda happened coincidentally, but I don't believe in coincidences. I believe that that's God's way of remaining anonymous."
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