Surgeons at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles performed the world’s first human bladder transplant on May 4, successfully transplanting both a bladder and a kidney in a single eight-hour operation.

The recipient, Oscar Larrainzar, had his bladder and kidneys removed due to cancer and end-stage kidney disease and was on dialysis for seven years prior to the surgery.

The innovative procedure used a newly pioneered technique to connect the transplanted kidney to the new bladder, resulting in immediate urinary function and elimination of the need for dialysis.

This breakthrough offers a promising alternative to previous bladder reconstruction methods, which involved artificial bladders or stoma bags and carried significant risks.