Can you survive without a thyroid gland?

Patients can survive without a thyroid gland as long as they take medications to replace the thyroid hormones they are also missing, according to Holtorf Medical Group. Patients may be born without a thyroid gland or may have their thyroid gland removed due to disease.

A person without a thyroid gland is automatically medically described as having hypothyroidism, according to Holtorf Medical Group. This term describes a physical condition in which a person doesn't produce enough thyroid hormone. A person without a thyroid gland has hypothyroidism because they do not have a thyroid to produce adequate thyroid hormone. To help them, doctors prescribe thyroid hormone treatment medications.