Open AccessAfrican American Living-Kidney Donors Should Be Screened for APOL1 Risk Alleles
Author(s) -
David Cohen,
Anuja Mittalhenkle,
David Scott,
Carlton J. Young,
Douglas J. Norman
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
transplantation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.45
H-Index - 204
eISSN - 1534-6080
pISSN - 0041-1337
DOI - 10.1097/tp.0b013e31822eec39
Subject(s) - african american , allele , kidney transplantation , relative risk , medicine , kidney disease , end stage kidney disease , transplantation , gerontology , genetics , gene , biology , confidence interval , ethnology , sociology
The adjusted rate of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) among African Americans is markedly increased relative to European Americans. African Americans are overrepresented on the kidney transplantation waiting list and experience longer wait times. In aggregate, these pressures drive recommendations for living donor transplantation. Genovese et al. recently implicated the APOL1 gene in ESKD risk among African Americans (Genovese et al. Science 2010; 329: 841). The presence of two APOL1 risk alleles doubles the relative risk for ESKD; moreover, the alleles are prevalent among African Americans. We propose a strategy for screening for the presence of APOL1 risk alleles among African American living kidney donors and for living-related donors for African American recipients.