HJR173 Summary

• Designates the last Tuesday of each April as APOL1-Mediated Kidney Disease (AMKD) Awareness Day in Alabama.

• Encourages individuals from or with ancestry from Western and Central Africa to consider genetic testing for APOL1 gene mutations, which account for excess risk of chronic and end-stage kidney disease.

• Notes that African Americans comprise 13 percent of the U.S. population but account for 32 percent of kidney failure cases and 35 percent of end-stage kidney disease cases; African Americans are four times more likely to develop kidney failure than White Americans.

• States that approximately 13 percent of Black Americans have variants in both copies of the APOL1 gene, giving them a one in five chance of developing kidney disease.

• Encourages Alabama citizens to cooperate and participate in research for effective treatment and a cure for APOL1-mediated kidney disease.