If there is only one kidney, how will human life change?

Most people are born with 2 kidneys but not everyone can stick with them for life. Many people only live with one kidney to the end of their lives for many different reasons such as congenital, because the disease must be removed from the kidneys, donated, even sold for debt or life is too difficult . So, when there is only one kidney, does the human body still have a healthy life as usual?

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Kidneys are an important part of the body. They take on many different functions including maintaining blood pressure and fluid balance, regulating electrolyte levels in the body, eliminating excess waste produced by the body's metabolic activities, and Help us urinate easily.

Many people believe that if a kidney is lost, the remaining kidney will not be able to do its job well.

But the kidney is a strange and 'favored' part, a kidney that only needs to work with 75% to take care of all the kidneys need to do in the body.

Each kidney contains 1.2 million tubular kidney units (called nephrons). There are about 120 liters of liquid and solute entering the kidney units so that it performs the filtration task every day.

When the body has only one kidney, it can adjust its performance to ensure the completion of the filtering task as if there were two left. At that time, to compensate for the treatment of the excess waste of the lost kidney, the kidney units in the remaining kidney will increase in size, this phenomenon is called hypertrophy and has no side effects even. for many years later.

More specifically, for those born with only 1 kidney, it will increase in size equivalent to the weight of 2 kidneys (about 435 grams).

In addition, the urinary system also has a self-protection mechanism to maintain life in the situation where only one kidney remains.

When people enter the age of 40, kidney units will gradually "degenerate" and lose function at a rate of 1% per year. We don't have to worry about this because then, 'alive' kidney units will swell to compensate for the lack and fulfill the task as usual.

According to doctors, kidney donation rarely causes negative long-term effects. In fact, people who have donated kidneys still have good urinary function after 30 years.

What should people do with a kidney to protect their health?

Theoretically, people still live healthy with only one kidney because it can transform itself to ensure effective operation in the urinary system as if there were two kidneys.

However, to have a healthy life, doctors give advice to those with only one kidney.

Blood pressure control:

1. Regularly measure and check blood pressure.
2. No smoking, reduced salt diet, blood cholesterol reduction, weight control and obesity .
3. When high blood pressure is detected, early treatment is needed to limit glomerular damage.

Preventing injury accidents

Because there is only one kidney left, it tends to be bigger and heavier so it is also more vulnerable. Therefore, kidney donors should pay attention to preventing traumatic factors that may cause kidney damage. Do not play sports that require high intensity and high resistance like football, martial arts .

Periodic health examination

People with only one kidney should have regular health checks on a regular basis and pay attention to tests that measure kidney function.