10 Worst Injuries Star Trek Characters Actually Survived
9. Neelix's Lungs Are Harvested By The Vidiians
Very early in the first season of Star Trek: Voyager, Neelix encounters the Vidiians. These pitiable aliens are afflicted by a horrific illness known as the Phage. It destroys their bodies, cell by cell, resulting in their desperation to survive. They steal healthy organs and tissue from others, inserting them into their own bodies, simply in the search to stay alive. While it's easy to feel sorry for them, one has to feel a whole lot sorrier for poor Neelix.
The Talaxian is confined to what is essentially an iron lung, trapped in sickbay for the foreseeable future. The Doctor is not hopeful for finding a cure, as organ replication is beyond their capabilities. It really does look grim for the man for a time.
Kes, an Ocampa with whom Neelix shares a highly questionable relationship (she's two years old) offers to donate one of her lungs to him, stating that she can survive with only one. Though the ship catches up to the Vidiians, they are unable to restore Neelix's original lungs. They do however help the Doctor to transplant Kes's, thus saving the man's life.