9 March: Kidneys

Today is World Kidney day in 2023 (the second Thursday in March). 10 facts about kidneys.

1. The kidneys are located under the ribs and above the waist at the back of the body. They are bean shaped and about the size of your fist.
2. They’re not symmetrical. The right one is usually smaller and lower than the left. This is to make room for the liver, which is on the right hand side of the body.
3. Most people are born with two kidneys, but the body can get by with one. If one of the kidneys is removed, the body only loses 25% of kidney function. If a child is born with only one, the one they have will grow until it has the same weight as two.
4. So what do the kidneys do? They filter the Blood, help make red blood cells and control the amount of fluid in the body and help regulate blood pressure. In doing this, Kidneys filter around 180 litres of blood every day.
5. The kidneys can make Vitamin D. While this is normally a function of the skin or the liver, but if both of those fail for any reason the kidneys can take over.
6. The ancient Egyptians knew about kidneys. An Egyptian papyrus dating back some 3500 years contained the world’s first known description of the kidneys. In ancient Egypt, the kidneys, like the Heart, were left inside mummified bodies when other organs were removed.
7. Kidneys are mentioned more often in the Bible than the heart. In Biblical times, people believed the kidneys were the seat of conscience, emotions, desire, and wisdom.
8. The filters inside the kidney are called nephrons, and each kidney has one to two million of them. If the nephrons in the 2 kidneys are removed and laid end-to-end, they cover a distance of about 10 miles.
9. The first successful human kidney transplant was performed in 1954. In the UK approximately 3,000 kidney transplants take place each year but around 5,000 people are still on the waiting list.
10. If both kidneys fail then the person needs dialysis. There are almost 30,000 people on dialysis in the UK. A pioneer of dialysis was a Dutch doctor called Willem Kolff, who, at the beginning of the second world war, was working on creating an artificial kidney. His efforts were somewhat hampered by wartime supply issues, so his first artificial kidney consisted of a wooden drum covered with sausage casing. A patient’s blood was pumped into the casings, and the drum was rotated to remove impurities. Later, he improved his invention by adding orange juice cans and a washing machine. In 1945, one woman lived seven more years thanks to Kolff’s machine. He’s also remembered for establishing the first blood bank in Europe and helped more than 800 people avoid Nazi concentration camps by hiding them in his hospital.

Character Birthday

Paolo Vendetta, a member of one of three rival gangster families based in New York City. He initially rejected the family "business" in favour of medical school; but after a massacre of his family by rival families the Pozzis and Fortellis in which his father was killed, he dropped out, wishing to join the rest of the family in their quest for revenge. He has enough medical knowledge to carry out first aid and simple surgery.