What if people live with only one kidney until the end of their lives?

Some people were born with only one kidney, because of the disease, they had to remove the kidneys, because they donated a kidney or even cut a kidney to sell for money, buy iPhone X for example, . so the life of the end of those who have only one kidney? How many kidneys does a kidney change from the two kidneys to normal? Here is the answer of medical experts.

According to Associate Professor of Biophysics Mark AW Andrews at Lake Erie Medical University, these are quite interesting questions, especially nowadays with increasing rates of kidney disease and the need for donating and receiving kidneys. Statistics show that in the United States there are between 10 and 15,000 kidney transplants each year. According to him, most people are born with 2 kidneys, along with 2 urinary, bladder and urethra tubes to make the urinary system.

The kidneys have many different functions, including stabilizing blood pressure, creating red blood cells, activating vitamin D and producing glucose. And obviously, the most important task of the kidneys is to filter the fluids in the blood stream, thereby regulating their composition, pH and osmotic pressure. Excess water, electrolytes, nitrogen and other wastes when removed for the body will be removed by the kidneys and put into the urine. Overall, the kidneys are responsible for maintaining stability and optimizing the environment inside the body.

Kidneys have many different functions.

According to Professor Andrews, human life will be extremely difficult if the kidneys lose function. However, unlike most other organs in the body, the kidneys are more favored when people are born with excess kidney function. In fact, a kidney with only 75% of its ability to function can maintain a person's life well.

Each kidney contains 1.2 million tubular kidney units (called nephrons) that perform the basic functions of the kidneys, including regulating the amount of water and the concentration of solutes by dialysis. , reabsorb what is needed and discard the rest of the filtrate. 20% of blood pumped from the heart will be taken to the kidney to filter. Every day, about 120 liters of liquid and solute go into kidney units so that it performs the filtration task.

Kidney units are 'undifferentiated' filters , meaning filtering everything except large cells and proteins. However, they are extremely effective in treating filters and important compounds for human life, such as water, glucose, amino acids and electrolytes that are inherently returned to storage. in blood. The excess water and waste products (including urea, creatinine, acids, bases, toxins and drug metabolites) after filtering by kidney units will become urine and be excreted.

If there is only one kidney, it can adjust the performance itself to ensure the filtering task as two fruits. At this time, the remaining kidney units will increase in size to compensate for waste treatment. This increase in size is called hypertrophy and doctors think it will not have side effects even for years to come. More specifically, if a person is born with only one kidney, it will increase in size equivalent to the weight of two kidneys (about 435 grams).

On the other hand, the urinary system also has a self-defense mechanism to maintain life in the situation where only one kidney remains. Since the age of 40, kidney units will gradually lose function at a rate of 1% per year, when 'living' kidney units will tend to swell to compensate for the shortage and complete. as a normal task. Doctors have found evidence that kidney donations rarely cause long-term negative effects, typically those who donate after 30 years still have good urinary function. In fact, the greatest risk of major kidney transplantation is to perform surgery that is not guaranteed or has errors in the preservation process.

The urinary system also has a self-defense mechanism to maintain life in the situation where only one kidney remains.

However, that is only true in theory for a healthy donor even before and after kidney donation. For those who have only one kidney to live on, doctors always advise to keep a healthy diet, maintain a healthy weight, drink enough water and regularly visit hospitals or health facilities. about the health situation. On the other hand, people who live with a kidney are advised to pay more attention to controlling blood pressure, monitor kidney filter activity more often, and ensure proper protein tolerance. Especially, because the remaining kidney tends to be bigger and heavier, it is also more vulnerable, so in some special sports or activities, a doctor's advice is required.

In summary, the theory is that people still live healthy with only one kidney because it can transform itself to ensure effective operation in the urinary system like when there are two kidneys. However, people who have donated or sold their kidneys must strictly follow diets, exercise and regular health checks to receive timely advice from doctors, which can be healthy. Maintain as normal people. If there is a problem with the remaining kidney, regular checkups will help detect it early and the treatment is also more effective.