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2025-2026 Bill 5416: Kidney Awareness Month and APOL1-Mediated Kidney Disease Awareness Day - South Carolina Legislature Online
South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
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Indicates New Matter
H. 5416
STATUS INFORMATION
House Resolution
Sponsors: Reps. Alexander, Anderson, Atkinson, Bailey, Ballentine, Bamberg, Bannister, Bauer, Beach, Bernstein, Bowers, Bradley, Brewer, Brittain, Burns, Bustos, Calhoon, Caskey, Chapman, Chumley, Clyburn, Cobb-Hunter, Collins, Cox, Crawford, Cromer, Davis, Dillard, Duncan, Edgerton, Erickson, Ford, Forrest, Frank, Gagnon, Garvin, Gatch, Gibson, Gilliam, Gilliard, Gilreath, Govan, Grant, Guest, Guffey, Haddon, Hager, Hardee, Harris, Hart, Hartnett, Hartz, Hayes, Henderson-Myers, Herbkersman, Hewitt, Hiott, Hixon, Holman, Hosey, Howard, Huff, J.E. Johnson, J.L. Johnson, Jones, Jordan, Kilmartin, King, Kirby, Landing, Lastinger, Lawson, Ligon, Long, Lowe, Luck, Magnuson, Martin, McCabe, McCravy, McDaniel, McGinnis, C. Mitchell, D. Mitchell, Montgomery, J. Moore, T. Moore, Morgan, Moss, Neese, B. Newton, W. Newton, Oremus, Pace, Pedalino, Pope, Rankin, Reese, Rivers, Robbins, Rose, Rutherford, Sanders, Schuessler, Scott, Sessions, G.M. Smith, M.M. Smith, Spann-Wilder, Stavrinakis, Taylor, Teeple, Terribile, Vaughan, Waters, Weeks, Wetmore, White, Whitmire, Wickensimer, Williams, Willis, Wooten and Yow
Document Path: LC-0468VR-RM26.docx
Introduced in the House on March 25, 2026
Adopted by the House on March 25, 2026
Summary: Kidney Awareness Month and APOL1-Mediated Kidney Disease Awareness Day
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date
Body
Action Description with journal page number
3/25/2026
House
Introduced and adopted (
House Journal-page 16
)
View the latest
legislative information
at the website
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
03/25/2026
A
house
RESOLUTION
TO DECLARE MARCH 2026 AS "KIDNEY AWARENESS MONTH" IN
SOUTH CAROLINA AND TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2026, AS "APOL1-MEDIATED KIDNEY DISEASE
AWARENESS DAY" AND TO ENCOURAGE ALL CITIZENS OF THE PALMETTO STATE TO BECOME
BETTER INFORMED ABOUT APOL1-MEDIATED KIDNEY DISEASE AND THOSE WITH WESTERN OR
CENTRAL AFRICAN ANCESTRY TO CONSIDER GENETIC TESTING.
W
hereas, in South
Carolina today, there are 14,372 people who have been diagnosed with kidney
failure. Most are unaware that they have it. For every three adults in the
United States, one is at risk for kidney disease, and the risk can be even
higher for people of color. Further, those with high blood pressure, diabetes,
heart disease, obesity, or a family history of kidney disease may have a kidney
disorder. If left unchecked, kidney disease can lead to kidney failure.
However, early detection can help with successful treatment of kidney disease;
and
W
hereas, there are
4,105 South Carolina residents living with a kidney transplant, 10,267 on
dialysis, and more than 1,531 on the kidney transplant waiting list. Further,
607 kidney transplants were performed in South Carolina in 2024; and
W
hereas, the American
Kidney Fund (AKF) believes everyone should have an equal chance at a healthy
life, regardless of ethnicity or cultural background, and the organization is
committed to putting kidney disease and its risk factors front and center within
the context of health disparities and the needs of all kidney patients; and
W
hereas, AKF is
revolutionizing the fight to save lives by eliminating preventable kidney
disease, accelerating innovation for the dignity of the patient experience, and
dismantling structural inequities in kidney care, dialysis, and
transplantation. To help accomplish its goals, AKF is calling on all Americans
to research whether or not they are part of the 33% at risk for kidney disease;
and
W
hereas, Black people
with kidney disease are more likely to develop kidney failure than any other
racial/ethnic group. The health disparities in kidney failure are
unsustainable, with Black people making up 13% of the U.S. population but
accounting for 35% of those with kidney failure; and
W
hereas, additional
awareness and research of APOL1 genetic mutations are needed to improve
understanding of kidney disease disparities; and
W
hereas, kidney failure
places enormous physical, emotional, and financial burdens on individuals and
costs the Medicare program over $50 billion annually; and
W
hereas, certain
genetic factors can increase an individual's risk for kidney disease. One such
genetic factor is variants (mutations) in the apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) gene.
Individuals from Western or Central Africa or who have an ancestor from these
regions are more likely to have APOL1 gene variants. These variants can
increase susceptibility for APOL1-Mediated Kidney Disease (AMKD), a rapidly
progressive form of kidney disease that can lead to kidney failure; and
W
hereas, it is
estimated that if a patient has variants in both copies of the APOL1 gene,
there is a one-in-five chance that such a patient will develop kidney disease
and that 13% of Black Americans have variants in both copies of the APOL1 gene.
Moreover, a person with AMKD may have no symptoms of kidney disease until the
kidneys are close to failure, but genetic testing can reveal risk for AMKD,
empowering individuals to take the necessary steps to protect kidney health
before it is too late; and
W
hereas, individuals
with APOL1 genetic variants can reduce their risk of kidney failure by meeting
with their doctors regularly, eating a healthy diet, taking all medications as
prescribed, exercising for at least thirty minutes per day, and not smoking or
otherwise using tobacco. Now, therefore,
B
e it resolved by the
House of Representatives
:
T
hat the members of the
South Carolina
House of Representatives
,
by this resolution, declare March 2026 as "Kidney Awareness Month" in South
Carolina and Tuesday, April 28, 2026, as "APOL1-Mediated Kidney Disease
Awareness Day" and encourage all citizens of the Palmetto State to become
better informed about APOL1-Mediated Kidney Disease and those with Western and
Central African ancestry to consider genetic testing.
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This web page was last updated on March 25, 2026 at 11:44 AM