# Organ removal and life. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 23, 2005, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-removal-and-life/337014 "2005-12-23T21:26:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2005, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-removal-and-life/337014/1 "2005-12-23T21:26:42Z")
I was reading a local story of a car wreck, and one of the injuries to a passenger was the removal of his spleen. I have read this many times, and it got me wondering what other organs could be removed from a person, and leave said person still able to live a normal life. I offer the following: The spleen. One kidney. One lung. The appendix. The gallbladder. What else? ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2005, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-removal-and-life/337014/2 "2005-12-23T21:33:31Z")
I think it’s a false assumption that one could remove those organs, save for the appendix, and live a normal, undiminished life. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2005, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-removal-and-life/337014/3 "2005-12-23T22:04:34Z")
Both breasts. At least half of the large intestine. Both ovaries and the uterus, or, if male, both testes. The Hammond B-3. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-removal-and-life/337014/4 "2005-12-23T22:16:43Z")
Some parts of your brain. Most of your liver and, since it rejuvenates itself, you could do it again and again and again. ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2005, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-removal-and-life/337014/5 "2005-12-23T22:53:49Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > …The Hammond B-3. _snork_ No one _touches_ my B-3 and lives to tell about it! Good one. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Starlite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Starlite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starlite)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-removal-and-life/337014/6 "2005-12-24T02:20:06Z")
A large portion of the population seems to do fairly well without their tonsils. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-removal-and-life/337014/7 "2005-12-24T07:52:23Z")
I think if you had all these removed you would live, but would not have a “normal” life by any means. Especially not without your kidney, lung, liver or intestine. ---
**Author:** ![peri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/67e7ee/32.png) [@peri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peri)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-removal-and-life/337014/8 "2005-12-24T09:24:17Z")
> [@FlyingRamenMonster](#): > > I think if you had all these removed you would live, but would not have a “normal” life by any means. Especially not without your kidney, lung, liver or intestine. It’s certainly possible to have a normal life after removal of a kidney or a portion of your liver through donation. The major limitation on kidney donors is avoiding high contact sports. No dietary or other activity restrictions apply unless they were in place prior to donation. If you mean one person losing **all** the mentioned organs, well that’s another story. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-removal-and-life/337014/9 "2005-12-24T14:10:21Z")
Teeth. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-removal-and-life/337014/10 "2005-12-24T14:31:56Z")
Are fingers and toes organs for the purposes of this thread? 'Cause you could lose at least one off each appendage without real loss of function. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRamenMonster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@FlyingRamenMonster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRamenMonster)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2005, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/organ-removal-and-life/337014/11 "2005-12-24T17:50:33Z")
> [@peri](#): > > It’s certainly possible to have a normal life after removal of a kidney or a portion of your liver through donation. The major limitation on kidney donors is avoiding high contact sports. No dietary or other activity restrictions apply unless they were in place prior to donation. > > If you mean one person losing **all** the mentioned organs, well that’s another story. Why no high-contact sports? Is it to protect the remaining kidney? I was talking about if you removed all removable organs, since the OP seemed to want to know just how far you could go and still lead a normal life. I figured those were the most important “removable” parts. Also IANAD but I have known two people with one kidney (one was born like that, one had it removed) and both seemed kind of more frail than other people in that hard to describe sort of way but do you think that’s more because neither was “normal” to begin with?