Sarah Hyland Opens Up About Her Second Kidney Transplant: "It's a Really Helpless Feeling"

Sarah Hyland calls the last year the best and worst of her life. While fans saw her on the ABC comedy Modern Family or out and about with boyfriend Wells Adams, behind the scenes, the 28-year-old actress was battling a series of health issues that left her in and out of hospitals.

In an emotional interview with Self magazine, Sarah detailed her struggle with kidney dysplasia and endometriosis. She underwent a kidney transplant back in 2012 after her father donated his kidney, but her body began to reject it in October 2016. Despite performing numerous tests to save it, Sarah was told the kidney was like a house that caught on fire — "You can't unburn a house," she said.

Sarah began dialysis three times a week for four hours per session, and in May 2017 she had a nephrectomy to remove the old kidney. During this experience, Sarah said she was "very depressed for a long time" and "contemplating suicide."

"I had gone through 26 years of always being a burden, of always having to be looked after, having to be cared for, because I've always had health issues," Sarah explained. "It's a really helpless feeling. Things like this can be really hard on a person."

"Things like this can be really hard on a person."

Sarah's younger brother, Ian, turned out to be another kidney match for her and wanted to donate. She said she felt the immense pressure of a "third chance at life" and didn't want to fail her family. Putting her fears aside, Sarah had her second transplant in September 2017 and had two additional surgeries the following Spring to treat her endometriosis and repair a hernia.

She is still mentally impacted by the effect these surgeries and struggles have had on her body, but she finds happiness in her now "stable" health and her support system.

"My name is Sarah. I have two of the most amazing dogs in the entire world. I have the best boyfriend ever who has the third most amazing dog in the entire world. I have the greatest family one could ask for. I love working. I love acting," she said. "Oh, and also, I have endometriosis. Oh, and also, I have kidney failure. Oh, and also, I'm a two-time kidney recipient. Oh, and also, I had a freakin' hernia for almost a year that went unnoticed. . . . That list doesn't stop, but that list doesn't hold me back from anything. I won't let it."