Articles labeled: extra kidneys

British teenager Laura Moon went to her doctor for an ultrasound after she began suffering chronic stomach pain. What they saw shocked everyone — Laura has four kidneys. This is not unheard of, but extremely rare — and news to us, apparently having three kidneys isn’t all that uncommon. Well, Laura doesn’t want to be an organ hog so she has decided to donate two of them:

Laura, a customer services adviser from Leeds, said: “I think if I’ve got four, I don’t need all four. Why not donate if there’s someone else in need?

“I hope I can help somebody else while I am young. I will do everything in my power to become a donor.”

It is not known why people develop multiple, or duplex, organs but one in 125 people have one extra kidney, normally a partial organ.

Laura’s condition often causes the patient no problems, although sufferers can be more prone to urinary infections.

She discovered she had the unusual anatomy six months ago when she was undergoing tests following a road accident.

“I was in a car crash a year ago and six months later I began having a lot of pain in my stomach. My GP referred me to the hospital for a scan.”