# can some organs survive longer than others without oxygen? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 7, 2007, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-some-organs-survive-longer-than-others-without-oxygen/399086 "2007-04-07T09:01:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-some-organs-survive-longer-than-others-without-oxygen/399086/1 "2007-04-07T09:01:38Z")
just currious, I know the brain dies or starts taking heavy damage pretty fast but what about the liver, kidneys? anything else? that survives for a legnth of time without ? ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-some-organs-survive-longer-than-others-without-oxygen/399086/2 "2007-04-07T09:13:25Z")
Hair and nails ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-some-organs-survive-longer-than-others-without-oxygen/399086/3 "2007-04-07T17:44:19Z")
Sure, otherwise organ transplants wouldn’t be feasible. Heart, lungs, kidneys, liver all can be chilled and transplanted for a period of time after death. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-some-organs-survive-longer-than-others-without-oxygen/399086/4 "2007-04-07T18:48:00Z")
Organ survival times outside the body from [OrganDonor.gov](http://organdonor.gov/transplantation/matching_process.htm): Kidney: 48 to 72 hours. Pancreas, Liver: 12 to 24 hours. Heart, Lung: 4 to 6 hours. From [Wikipedia on Drowning](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drowning): Brain: 6 minutes ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2007, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-some-organs-survive-longer-than-others-without-oxygen/399086/5 "2007-04-07T19:29:47Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] Hair and nails [/QUOTE] Common misconception. Hair and nails don’t actually continue to grow after death. What happens is that the body loses moisture, causing it to “tighten” and so make the hair and nails appear to have grown. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2007, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-some-organs-survive-longer-than-others-without-oxygen/399086/6 "2007-04-08T06:58:01Z")
[QUOTE=Revenant Threshold] Common misconception. Hair and nails don’t actually continue to grow after death. What happens is that the body loses moisture, causing it to “tighten” and so make the hair and nails appear to have grown. [/QUOTE] A Google confirms you’re correct \>\>\>\>me :smack: I learn summat every day ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2007, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-some-organs-survive-longer-than-others-without-oxygen/399086/7 "2007-04-08T07:00:53Z")
interesting stuff, thanks guys