Nephrologist (Kidney Specialist) Questions Kidney health

How can children live with just one kidney?

My son's friend is only 8 years old and he lives with just one kidney. I learned that he had to have it removed because of complications that he had when he was just born. My question is: how can some children live with just one kidney?

3 Answers

The single kidney can do the job
God gave us extra. The remaining kidney will be able to adjust to a little extra load. In addition, he still has growth hormone present, and that will help the remaining kidney grow bigger, so it will be even better able to adapt.
One in every 1000 people is born with only one kidney also.
One kidney is enough to remove the wastes from a person and sustain growth. They do not need to play sports when injury to kidney could occur. They also need to stay hydrated