Why are the Kidneys the Most Important Organ In The Body?

Question

i am doing a debate at school - why are the kidneys the most important organ in the body

Answer 1

Hi Mouse,
How brave are you? I think you could win your debate if you tell what the kidneys do and why this is important, and then finish with a joke:

All the organs of the body were having an argument about which one was the most important. "I am" said the brain, "because I do the thinking."
"Not so" cried the liver, "I detoxify poisons."
"But I am the one who gives you all blood!" boomed the heart.
"You would starve without me," opined the stomach.

And so it went, around and around. Finally the kidneys piped up "We are the most important."
Everyone laughed: "You! What do you do? You just make that disgusting urine! Ick."
"Well, if that's how you feel" the kidneys answered, "then we're going on strike!"
The rest of the organs went on laughing and debating, but the kidneys shut down and waited.

Very soon, only a couple of days later, everyone was having trouble: the brain couldn't think clearly as it's salt and water balance was not right, the stomach could hardly keep anything down, and the joints were screaming as crystals of uric acid started to build up in them.
The heart was choking on the dirty blood it was pumping and yelled at the liver "Clean these toxins up!"
"The kidneys aren't helping and I can't do it by myself," the liver whined.

What a mess it was! Soon everyone was begging the kidneys to go back to work ... and they replied "So now, who is most important?"

"You are!" all the other organs chorused.
And so it was decided: the lowly kidneys are actually the most important of all the organs.
;-)

Answer 2

They are important but there are more important organs in my opinion. For a start you have 2 kidneys, but you can actually live without any. Dialysis replaces the kidney function quite well, although it is far from the nicest of procedures!
If your heart gives up it is usually "See ya in the Great Beyond"!!! So I would say that the heart is the most important organ, as it's function cannot yet be replaced by a machine over the long term. Heart transplants are very risky and potential recipients outnumber donors.

Answer 3

Great debate!! The joke was good, To the point, I know someone with no Kidney he is ok , not great but ok. I know plenty people with no brain, so that rules that one out.I have met a little girl that had her Colon bypassed. I know someone with only one lung. I would need to say, that the most important organ was the Heart as my Dad doesn't have a good one, and that even hurts me.

Answer 4

You are going to have a tough debate - ever consider switching sides? Pretty much all organs are vital so the question of 'most important' is meaningless. If anything kidneys are slightly less important than say the brain because you can live without them although it does innvolve spending several hours a day plugged into a machine.

Answer 5

Sorry, you are not going to win this one.
Essential systems: Heart, Lungs and CNS (you CAN live without higher brain functions, but only for some definitions of "alive").
Kidneys & liver come in after right after these 3. You will survive for some days without the kidneys (years with dialysis). You will only last a few minutes without the heart or lungs. Be prepared to counter these arguments.

Answer 6

They aren't as you can live considerably longer without kidneys than say a heart or brain or even skin. Hence dialysis machines. There are also false hearts, iron lungs, liver replacement machines, but no false brains - making it number one organ

Answer 7

Just one of the important organs in your body.

Answer 8

By using a dialysis you can live without kidneys. It is very difficult to live without lungs, a heart, or a brain. These are more important.

Answer 9

there may be several reasons. they are responsible for keeping a fluid balance in your body, i believe they remove toxins from your body, as does the liver. i seem to remember the kidneys maintain a balanced amount of sodium in your body body too, which is important as too much sodium in your body is bad for the heart. don't take this as gospel, it's a long time since i did biology lol.

Answer 10

They aren't. They are controlled by the brain, which, as it controls all organs, is surely the most important. We can live with one kidney and dialysis enables us to live with failing kidneys.