ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT06337942Updated Feb 12, 2025

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

An interventional study of Bladder Transplantation and Combined Kidney and Bladder Transplantation in Bladder Disease, Bladder, Neurogenic and Bladder Cancer, sponsored by University of California, Los Angeles. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 70 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2025-02-12.

Sponsored by University of California, Los Angeles · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Started Feb 2025; still recruiting 1 year 9 months later.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
5
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
18 Years to 70 Years
Sex
All
01

Study 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.

02

Conditions studied

  • Bladder Disease
  • Bladder, Neurogenic
  • Bladder Cancer
  • Kidney Failure

Keywords

  • terminal bladder
  • vascularized composite bladder allograft
  • bladder transplantation
  • combined kidney and bladder transplantation
03

In context

Urinary Bladder Diseases

62 studies on the registry are indexed under Urinary Bladder Diseases; 9 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 5 is below the median of 79 across 42 interventional studies indexed under Urinary Bladder Diseases.

Browse Urinary Bladder Diseases studies →

Lead sponsor

University of California, Los Angeles is the lead sponsor of 1,170 studies on the registry; 195 are open to participants now.

Of its 95 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 70 (74%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 70 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

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

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

Exclusion Criteria:

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

    1. (active or seropositive), active 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 /ALT, and the presence of secondary coagulopathy, measured by prothrombin, , and partial thromboplastin time.
    6. Severe anemia ( \< 7 g/dL), leukopenia (WBC \< 3 x 109 cell/L), or thrombocytopenia ( \< 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 in past 5 years, with the exception of non-melanomatous skin cancer
    2. History of malignancy involving
  • Patients unable to receive adequate follow-up care and/or unable to receive 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.
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(10)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Relapsed and refractory

Relapsed: the illness came back after treatment had worked. Refractory: it did not respond to treatment, or stopped responding while still on it.

Metastases

Cancer that has spread from where it began to other parts of the body. “Metastatic” cancer is cancer that has spread this way.

Immunosuppression

A weakened immune system. It can come from an illness, such as HIV or some blood cancers, or from medicines that turn the immune system down, for example after an organ transplant or for an autoimmune disease; steroids at higher doses count.

Read whether the line is about a condition or about medicines, and which medicines and doses it means.

HIV

The human immunodeficiency virus, which weakens the immune system.

Many studies now accept people whose HIV is controlled on treatment, judged by the viral load and the CD4 count. Check the limits this study sets.

Hepatitis B tests

Hepatitis B is a virus that infects the liver. These are separate tests: HBsAg positive usually means a current infection (a recent vaccination can briefly cause it too); total anti-HBc (HBcAb) positive means an infection now or in the past; HBV DNA measures how much virus is in the blood.

Some studies accept a past infection if HBV DNA is undetectable, sometimes with antiviral medicine during the study. Check what this study allows.

ALT and AST (liver enzymes)

Two enzymes measured in a routine blood test of the liver. Higher levels can mean the liver is under strain or damaged. SGPT and SGOT are older names for ALT and AST.

Criteria usually give a limit as a multiple of the upper limit of normal (ULN), often higher when cancer has spread to the liver.

INR, PT and aPTT (clotting tests)

Blood tests of how long blood takes to clot. The INR is the prothrombin time (PT) put on a common scale; about 1 is usual for someone not taking a blood thinner.

Criteria often make an exception for people on a blood thinner such as warfarin, whose INR is raised on purpose.

Hemoglobin (Hb)

The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. A low level is anaemia, which can cause tiredness and breathlessness. Measured in g/dL or g/L (9 g/dL is 90 g/L).

Platelets

Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.

Cancer (malignancy)

Malignancy means cancer. Criteria about another or earlier malignancy ask whether you have had a different cancer, usually within a set number of years.

Some are commonly allowed, such as treated skin cancers other than melanoma and early cancers removed completely — check the exceptions this study lists.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
5 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Bladder Transplantation

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

    Procedure: Bladder Transplantation

  • Experimental
    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.

    Procedure: Combined Kidney and Bladder Transplantation

Interventions

  • ProcedureBladder 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.

  • ProcedureCombined 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.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Demonstrating the technical success of bladder or combined kidney-bladder transplantation

    The technical success of bladder transplantation will be evaluated. Technical success is defined as sustained and adequate perfusion to the bladder to maintain viability, as assessed through cystoscopic visual inspection and imaging, including ultrasound and cross-sectional imaging.

    Time frame: 2 years

Secondary outcomes

  1. Incidence of adverse events after bladder or combined kidney-bladder transplantation

    Adverse events will be evaluated. The endpoint for this outcome will be immediate peri-operative, 30, and 90-day adverse profiles. CTCAE v5 criteria will be used to describe adverse events. Of note a rejection episode managed medically will be defined as a grade 3 adverse event, while rejection requiring allograft explantation will be graded as a CTCAE grade 4 event.

    Time frame: 2 years

  2. Incidence of immune rejection after bladder or combined kidney-bladder transplantation

    Monitoring for immune or cell-mediated rejection will be monitored for the duration of the study. The endpoint for this outcome will be the incidence of acute (within 7 days) and delayed transplant rejection (up to 30 days) post-transplantation. Rejection will be graded using a modified histological grading system adapted from Banff criteria, similar to that adopted in uterine transplantation. This is adapted from pre-existing grading criteria for vascularized composite allograft rejection. Chronic rejection will be evaluated thereafter, up to 1 year at regular follow-up intervals.

    Time frame: 2 years

  3. Evaluate the functionality of the transplanted bladder

    The capacity of the bladder will be measured by ultrasound and cystoscopic visualization at 3 month intervals during the first year post-transplant, and as clinically indicated thereafter. The ability of the bladder to empty will be evaluated through using uroflowmetry studies at 3 month intervals and urodynamic evaluations. Successful bladder capacity is defined as a volume exceeding 300 cc, while successful bladder emptying will be defined by a post-void residual of less than 100 cc.

    Time frame: 2 years

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reached

Started Feb 2025 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Jan 2027, 23 months after the start.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Mar 15, 2024
First posted
Mar 29, 2024
StartActual
Feb 1, 2025
Primary completionEst.
Jan 2027
CompletionEst.
Jan 2028
Last update
Feb 12, 2025
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Feb 12, 2025, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06337942
Responsible party
Nima Nassiri (Assistant HS Clinical Professor, University of California, Los Angeles) — Principal investigator
First posted
Mar 29, 2024
Start date
Feb 1, 2025
Primary completion
Jan 2027 (estimated)
Completion
Jan 2028 (estimated)
Last update
Feb 12, 2025

Study contacts

Dana Lopez, MPH
Contact
dlevinlopez@mednet.ucla.edu
310-794-8893
Gina Choi
Contact
gichoi@mednet.ucla.edu
310-206-1515

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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