Deceased Donor Bladder or Combined Kidney-bladder Transplantation: a Phase 0 First-in-human Study

NCT ID: NCT06337942

Last Updated: 2025-02-12

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 5 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2025-02-01
• Study Completion Date: 2028-01-31

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to demonstrate the feasibility of bladder transplantation in patients with terminal bladder diseases who would benefit from a new bladder or a combined kidney and bladder transplant. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Is human bladder transplantation feasible and safe?
• How will the new bladder function in terms of storage and emptying?

Participants will undergo a bladder-only or combined kidney and bladder transplantation. They will then be followed for two years to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and functionality of the bladder transplant.

Conditions

Bladder Disease; Bladder, Neurogenic; Bladder Cancer; Kidney Failure

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NON_RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Bladder Transplantation

Patients with terminal bladders who do not have kidney failure and who qualify for the study may undergo bladder transplantation.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Bladder Transplantation

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

A bladder transplantation will be performed. The bladder will be recovered from a brain-dead human donor. The connections that will be made will include connections between donor and recipient blood vessels, the bladder transplant and the recipient urethra, and the recipient's ureter(s) to the new bladder.

Combined Kidney and Bladder Transplantation

Patients with terminal bladders who also have kidney failure and who qualify for the study may undergo combined kidney and bladder transplantation.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Combined Kidney and Bladder Transplantation

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

For patients who qualify for a combined kidney and bladder transplant, both a kidney and a bladder transplant will be performed. Both kidney and bladder allografts will be recovered from the same brain-dead human donor. The connections that will be made will include connections between donor and recipient blood vessels, the bladder transplant and the recipient urethra, and the kidney transplant ureter to the transplanted bladder. If the recipient has continued urine output, new connections between the native ureters and the transplanted bladder will also be made.

Interventions

Bladder Transplantation

A bladder transplantation will be performed. The bladder will be recovered from a brain-dead human donor. The connections that will be made will include connections between donor and recipient blood vessels, the bladder transplant and the recipient urethra, and the recipient's ureter(s) to the new bladder.

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

Combined Kidney and Bladder Transplantation

For patients who qualify for a combined kidney and bladder transplant, both a kidney and a bladder transplant will be performed. Both kidney and bladder allografts will be recovered from the same brain-dead human donor. The connections that will be made will include connections between donor and recipient blood vessels, the bladder transplant and the recipient urethra, and the kidney transplant ureter to the transplanted bladder. If the recipient has continued urine output, new connections between the native ureters and the transplanted bladder will also be made.

Intervention Type: PROCEDURE

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Age 18-70 years
• Positive history of one of the following:

1. Terminal bladder pathology resulting in poor compliance, recurrent refractory infections, and/or and resultant upper tract (kidney and ureteral) pathology, with possible resultant kidney disease.

2. Localized, non-metastatic, bladder cancer requiring radical cystectomy. In this protocol, the only patients with a history of urothelial cell carcinoma that has already been treated, with an appropriate disease-free interval would be considered. Moreover, only candidates requiring a joint kidney and bladder transplantation or patients with a pre-existing transplant, on standard immunosuppression, will be considered.

• Patients that are on immunosuppression for pre-existing solid organ transplantation will be included in this study.
• Patient agrees to comply with the protocol and states a dedication to the immunomodulatory treatment regime.
• Patient has been previously fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19, or is willing to undergo timely vaccination.

(a) Caretakers of the recipient will be strongly encouraged to be vaccinated.

• Patients must demonstrate appropriate manual dexterity or sufficient assistance at home to perform clean intermittent catheterizations as needed. The patient (or assistant) must demonstrate proficiency in performing clean intermittent catheterization during pre-transplant workup.
• No co-existing medical condition which, in the opinion of the study team, could affect the immunomodulatory protocol, surgical procedure, or functional results. If the condition is amenable to treatment, the study team must agree that said condition should not significantly enhance the surgical risks of genitourinary transplantation. Examples of such medical conditions would include burden of atherosclerotic disease that would preclude vascular anastomosis, and psychiatric disorders that would preclude reliable adherence to medications.
• No active co-existing psychosocial problems (i.e., alcoholism, drug abuse).
• Negative crossmatch with donor.

Exclusion Criteria

• Positive history of one of the following medical co-morbidities:

1. HIV (active or seropositive), active hepatitis B or C, viral encephalitis, untreated sepsis, active tuberculosis, viral encephalitis, toxoplasmosis, varicella zoster virus

2. Conditions that may impact the success of the surgical procedure or increase the risk of postoperative complications including inherited coagulopathies like hemophilia, Von-Willebrand's disease, protein C and S deficiency, thrombocythemia, thalassemia, sickle cell disease.

3. Mixed connective tissue diseases and collagen disorders (can result in poor wound healing after surgery), including: mixed connective tissue disorder; severe deforming rheumatoid arthritis; infectious, post-infectious, or inflammatory (axonal or demyelinating) neuropathy; Ehlers-Danlos syndrome;

4. lipopolysaccharidosis or amyloidosis (effects nerve regeneration)

5. Impaired liver function as evaluated by liver function panel, including the presence of hyperbilirubinemia, elevated AST/ALT, and the presence of secondary coagulopathy, measured by prothrombin, international normalized ratio, and partial thromboplastin time.

6. Severe anemia (hemoglobin < 7 g/dL), leukopenia (WBC < 3 x 109 cell/L), or thrombocytopenia (platelets < 20 x109 cells/L).

• Patient is either not vaccinated or is unwilling to undergo vaccination against COVID-19 prior to transplantation.
• Oncology patient specific:

1. History of non-urothelial malignancy in past 5 years, with the exception of non-melanomatous skin cancer

2. History of malignancy involving metastases

• Patients unable to receive adequate follow-up care and/or unable to receive immunosuppression due to geographic, financial or other reasons.
• Patients with a smoking history who cannot demonstrate smoking cessation for a period of 6 months prior to listing and a desire to abstain from post-operative smoking will be excluded.
• Records of poor medical compliance, documented psychological disorder(s), substance abuse or incomplete psychological clearance.
• Particular attention will be paid to the candidate's compliance and their desire to undergo the offered procedure. While there is no "score" on any particular evaluation that would rule out a patient, certain factors can aid in the identification of patients who for example may not have the ability to comply with the medical directives necessary to care for a genitourinary transplant, or psychologically are not prepared for transplant, or who have unrealistic expectations about the transplant. The decision on eligibility is a team decision. All members of the team will discuss each candidate in a multidisciplinary meeting and reasons for concern over eligibility will be discussed at a Selection Committee Meeting. In circumstances where the candidate is considered to be less suitable, they could be given an opportunity to address these issues either through individual counseling or further education and then be reconsidered as a potential candidate. Every effort to prevent a request for allograft removal will be made.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 70 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

University of California, Los Angeles

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Nima Nassiri

Assistant HS Clinical Professor

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

UCLA

Los Angeles, California, United States

Site Status: RECRUITING

Countries

United States

Central Contacts

Dana Lopez, MPH

Role: CONTACT

dlevinlopez@mednet.ucla.edu

310-794-8893

Gina Choi

Role: CONTACT

gichoi@mednet.ucla.edu

310-206-1515

Facility Contacts

Magdalena Mendez-Smith

Role: primary

mmendezsmith@mednet.ucla.edu

310-267-7727

References

Shah AM. First Human Bladder Transplant. Artif Organs. 2025 Aug;49(8):1227-1228. doi: 10.1111/aor.15041. Epub 2025 Jun 12.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 40503649 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

23-001621

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id