Back
For best output, select "Paper Size" as "A4" and "Margin" as "0" or "None".
To save or print to PDF, please select Print Destination > Save as PDF, enable Background Graphics under "More Settings", then click "Save".
During the congress, E-Posters will be accessible to all participants on the congress website 24/7, as well as in the E-poster stations in the congress center.
Preparing your E-Poster
Please review the E-Poster format requirements carefully when preparing your E-Poster. Should your E-Poster not meet the mentioned requirements, it may not be displayed as described above.
E-Poster Submission Deadline
Please prepare and upload your E-Poster no later than March 14, 2026 11.59PM CET. After this date, you will no longer be able to prepare and upload your E-poster and it will not be displayed and accessible on the congress website.
Please follow the instructions below to input your abstract title.
Abstract titles should be brief and reflect the content of the abstract.
Purpose: To evaluate the frequency of high-risk APOL1 variants among kidney donors and to assess the impact of these variants on long-term graft survival in recipients.
This is an interim analysis of the BRIDGES-APOL1 study, a historical cohort including 1,225 living donor–recipient kidney transplant pairs who underwent transplantation between 2008 and 2015, with a minimum follow-up of 10 years post-transplant. This report presents data from the first 539 pairs (44%). APOL1 genotyping was performed using Sanger sequencing. Recipients were stratified according to the presence of donor APOL1 risk variants: G0/G0 vs. ≥1 variant (G0/G1, G0/G2, G1/G1, G1/G2, or G2/G2). Graft survival was estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method, and multivariable analysis was performed using Cox proportional hazards regression.
Overall, 16.8% of donors carried at least one APOL1 risk variant: 11.1% G0/G1, 4.5% G0/G2, 1.2% G1/G2, and no G2/G2 cases were identified. Among G0/G0 donors, 62.1% self-identified as White and 37.9% as Black or Brown (Pardo) (p = 0.01). Donors had a mean age of 45.4 years, 62% were female, and 53.2% were siblings of their recipients. Apart from ethnicity, no other demographic differences were observed. Recipients whose donors carried ≥1 APOL1 variant were more frequently Black or Brown (62.6% vs. 47.3%, p = 0.008) and less likely to have received a preemptive transplant (7.7% vs. 16.7%, p = 0.03). Induction therapy with thymoglobulin or basiliximab was used in 31.9% of recipients. Maintenance immunosuppression predominantly included a calcineurin inhibitor combined with azathioprine (69.8%), with no significant differences between groups. At 10 years, death non-censored graft survival was 88.3% among recipients of G0/G0 donor kidneys and 81.7% among those with donors carrying ≥1 variant (HR = 1.622; 95% CI = 1.003–2.624; p = 0.049). In the multivariable analysis, time on dialysis before transplantation (HR per year = 1.076; 95% CI = 1.003–1.156; p = 0.042) and the presence of ≥1 APOL1 variant (HR = 1.635; 95% CI = 1.011–2.664; p = 0.045) were independently associated with death-uncensored graft loss.
This is the first large-scale study to evaluate the frequency of APOL1 risk variants in living kidney donors and their clinical impact on recipients' long-term graft survival. The prevalence of risk variants was consistent with previous studies involving relatives of dialysis patients. The presence of at least one APOL1 risk variant independently increased the long-term risk of graft loss by 63%, highlighting the potential clinical relevance of donor genetic screening in kidney transplantation.
