Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis narrowly escaped kidney failure during the summer, US media reports claim.

Friends of the singer described his health at the time as “bleak” and said that organ failure “was a possibility".

According to the New York Daily News, Kiedis was treated at the Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai hospital over the summer.

“There was talk of how to get him on a transplant list, to cover all the bases, but that opened up a whole new can of worms because people with histories of drug and alcohol abuse are less likely to receive the organs they need,” a source told the newspaper.

The publication quoted another source as saying Kiedis' was now “getting better”.

Two publicists for the singer denied the claims when asked to comment.

As previously reported, Red Hot Chili Peppers are currently on hiatus.

(by Jason Gregory)