Sarah Hyland revealed she underwent a second kidney transplant in 2017, after the initial transplant she received from her father in 2012 failed, according to a new interview with SELF.
The Modern Family star, now 28 years old, received a kidney from her father in 2012, but told the magazine that she started experiencing symptoms indicating her body was rejecting the transplant in 2016.
After going on dialysis in February 2017, the transplanted kidney was removed, and Sarah learned that her brother might be a candidate as a possible donor.
“I was very depressed,” Sarah said. “When a family member gives you a second chance at life, and it fails, it almost feels like it’s your fault. It’s not. But it does.”
Sarah revealed that she went through a dark time, and even contemplated suicide. “For a long time, I was contemplating suicide, because I didn’t want to fail my little brother like I failed my dad,” she said. “I had gone through (my whole life) of always being a burden, of always having to be looked after, having to be cared for.”
However, she said sharing those feelings with a close friend helped her get past those thoughts.
Sarah received a transplant from her brother in September 2017, and said she’s still dealing with side effects like abdominal swelling. “It’s this bittersweet moment of, ‘Oh my gosh. I have new life,’ but then also being an actress and being held up to this sort of pedestal of how you’re supposed to look,” she said.
Sarah has long been public about her battle with kidney dysplasia, a condition where the internal structures of one or both kidneys don’t develop normally, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. She was born with the condition.
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