Improving Kidney Disease Research in the Black Community: The Essential Role of Black Voices in the APOLLO Study
The National Institutes of Health (NIH)–funded APOL1 Long-Term Kidney Transplantation Outcomes (APOLLO) study involves genetic testing of biospecimens from up to 700 Black living kidney donors and 1,300 Black deceased kidney donors and will also test and track outcomes among racially diverse recipients of those kidneys.1 Given the racially targeted nature of APOLLO, the history of racism in the United States, and the current social background, this study cannot succeed without appropriately hearing and responding to the Black community’s study-related concerns and hopes.