Let s start with the obvious: No one wants to lose a kidney. But if you ve got cancer, sometimes, you have no choice. And though it may feel like the end of the world to have to give up an actual organ, we promise it’s just the beginning to your journey back to health. The truth is, you only need one functioning kidney to live a healthy life, and usually your body adapts quickly to single-organ status. To understand what life is like with just one kidney, it helps to go back to the point where two became one. Here’s what typically happens.