Only five organs — the brain, heart, liver, at least one kidney, and at least one lung are absolutely essential for living. Losing total function of any one of these vital organs spells death.
You'll be surprised as to how much you could lose and still live. You can still have a fairly normal life without one of your lungs, a kidney, your spleen, appendix, gall bladder, adenoids, tonsils, plus some of your lymph nodes, the fibula bones from each leg and six of your ribs.
Kidneys. Most people have two kidneys, but you can survive with just one – or even none (with the aid of dialysis).
Although some patients who have a diseased portion of their liver removed are unable to regrow the tissue and end up needing a transplant.
Anatomy & Function
The brain is arguably the most important organ in the human body. It controls and coordinates actions and reactions, allows us to think and feel, and enables us to have memories and feelings—all the things that make us human.
For patients and families awaiting transplant, organ and tissue donation can mean the difference between life and death. One donor can donate and save up to eight lives by donating organs after death. The organs that can be donated include the heart, intestines, kidneys, liver, lungs and the pancreas.
The liver has a unique capacity among organs to regenerate itself after damage. A liver can regrow to a normal size even after up to 90% of it has been removed. But the liver isn't invincible. Many diseases and exposures can harm it beyond the point of repair.
Transplanted Organs Don't Last Forever
Meanwhile, a liver will function for five years or more in 75 percent of recipients. After a heart transplant, the median survival rate of the organ is 12.5 years. A transplanted pancreas keeps working for around 11 years when combined with a kidney transplant.
If you have both kidneys completely removed, you will not make any urine. You will need to have kidney dialysis. This is a way of getting rid of waste products and excess water that the kidneys normally filter out of your blood. Dialysis means you can lead a more or less normal life without a working kidney.
In such cases, return can be coordinated with the funeral director who took care of the funeral arrangements in the case. Organs are retained only when necessary to facilitate proper examination. In most cases, no whole organs are retained.
Brain Dead people can donate their organs. Brain death is diagnosed as per the criteria of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The test is done twice in a time gap of minimum 6 hours by the panel of 4 doctors out of that 2 of them are approved by the Appropriate Authority for Human Organ Transplant.
The brain is the only organ in the human body that cannot be transplanted. The brain cannot be transplanted because the brain's nerve tissue does not heal after transplantation.
For example, thoracic organs like the heart and lungs, can only remain viable for transplant after being outside of the body for four to six hours, while the liver can function for up to 12 hours and kidneys up to 36 hours.
The hardest working muscle is the heart. It pumps out 2 ounces (71 grams) of blood at every heartbeat. Daily the heart pumps at least 2,500 gallons (9,450 liters) of blood. The heart has the ability to beat over 3 billion times in a person's life.
The skin is the largest organ of the body. The skin and its derivatives (hair, nails, sweat and oil glands) make up the integumentary system. One of the main functions of the skin is protection. It protects the body from external factors such as bacteria, chemicals, and temperature.
While your heart is a vital organ, the brain (and the nervous system that attaches to the brain) make up the most critical organ system in the human body. The human nervous system is responsible for coordinating every movement and action your body makes.
Heart. The heart is the most important organ of the circulatory system, which helps deliver blood to the body. It works with the lungs to add oxygen to blood and pump this freshly oxygenated blood through the blood vessels and around the body. The heart also has an electrical system within.
With the exception of the reproductive system, each is necessary for survival. This article discusses the 11 organ systems, including how they work, what organs they contain, and why they're important.