DESIGNATING MAY 14, 2026 AS “IGAN AWARENESS DAY” IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE.

Legislation Document

SPONSOR:

Sen. Poore & Rep. Griffith

Sens. Mantzavinos, Wilson; Reps. Berry, Bolden, K. Johnson

DELAWARE STATE SENATE

153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 188

DESIGNATING MAY 14, 2026 AS “IGAN AWARENESS DAY” IN THE STATE OF DELAWARE.

WHEREAS, more than 1 in 7 American adults are estimated to have chronic kidney disease (CKD), yet as many as 9 in 10 American adults with CKD do not know they have it; and

WHEREAS, while the two most common causes of kidney disease are hypertension and heart disease, the third leading cause of kidney disease is glomerulonephritis, often caused by rare, immune-mediated kidney diseases such as IgA nephropathy (IgAN); and

WHEREAS, patients with glomerular diseases frequently advance to more costly and more debilitating later stages of kidney disease, including end-stage renal disease (ESRD), more quickly than patients with CKD in general, with estimates suggesting that rare kidney diseases make up 5–10 percent of CKD patients but account for approximately 25 percent of patients receiving treatment for kidney failure; and

WHEREAS, patients often face delays in being diagnosed with IgAN and other immune-mediated kidney diseases, owing to the difficulty of the rare disease diagnostic odyssey, the limited number of nephrology providers, and lack of awareness about the causes of kidney disease; and

WHEREAS,

IgAN is twice as likely to appear in men as women, can occur at any age but most likely strikes people in their twenties and thirties, and is more common in Caucasians and Asians; and

WHEREAS, kidney disease, including IgAN, not only presents a significant burden on the health and lives of patients and their families, but also incurs great challenges for the healthcare system and substantial healthcare costs for the State of Delaware, with estimates suggesting that patients with IgAN-attributed ESRD have health costs exceeding $63,000 a year; and

WHEREAS, while the federal Medicare program covers the costs of dialysis for many patients with ESRD, 45 percent of ESRD patients are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid, and ESRD is a significant source of disability, with ESRD patients employed at only one-fifth the rate of the general population; and

WHEREAS, kidney disease patients are entering a new era of hope, including for rare diseases, with multiple drugs now approved by the Food and Drug Administration to slow the progression of CKD and multiple drugs approved to slow the progression of IgAN specifically, including innovative immunology-based therapies, and many more clinical trials are underway for such products; and

WHEREAS, there is growing recognition that early identification of kidney disease and rare kidney diseases, including through broader screening of patients with low-cost serum creatine blood tests and urine albuminuria creatine ratio tests, can slow the progression of kidney disease and prevent or delay ESRD, including in patients with immune-mediated kidney diseases; and

WHEREAS, “IgAN Awareness Day” is designated in order to increase awareness among patients, providers, and policymakers of kidney disease and glomerular diseases, and IgAN in particular, in order to support efforts to improve policies that may increase access to screening, diagnosis, and treatment for kidney disease, and in order to provide hope and inspiration to patients, caregivers, and advocates working tirelessly to advance awareness and better care for kidney disease.

NOW, THEREFORE:

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the 153

rd

General Assembly, the House of Representatives concurring therein, that May 14, 2026, is hereby designated at “IgAN Awareness Day” in the State of Delaware.

SYNOPSIS

This Concurrent Resolution designates May 14, 2026, as “IgAN Awareness Day” in the State of Delaware.

Author: Senator Poore