The world's first bladder transplant

This article is taken from the monthly Sciences et Avenir n°941-942, dated July-August 2025.

While kidney transplants have been performed for over 70 years, bladder transplants, deemed too complex, had never been successful until now. Now, this has been achieved.

A connected kidney and bladder

A team from Robald-Reagan Hospital in Los Angeles, USA, successfully operated on Oscar Larrainzar, 41, who had been on dialysis for several years. He received a reconnected kidney and bladder, allowing him to relieve himself naturally shortly after the eight-hour operation.

Our previous articles on transplants:

• Grafting: better preservation of grafts, a necessary adaptation
• Transplantation: the importance of developing living donations
• A look back at the xenograft boom