# Living Donor Extended Time Outcomes (LETO) Study

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · 2020 · $844,088

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
We are submitting this competitive revision application in response to NOT-DK-20-012 to expand our existing
R01DK120551 project titled “Living donor Extended Time Outcomes (LETO).” The parent LETO study will recruit
a national sample of 1,100 black living kidney donors to assess their health status ~15-20 years after donation.
The primary aim of the original application is to determine in a national sample whether black living kidney donors
with 2 apolipoprotein L1 gene (APOL1) renal-risk variants are at higher risk of developing clinically significant
chronic kidney disease (estimated glomerular filtration rate <45 ml/min/1.73m2) approximately two decades after
donation.”
Only black donors are targeted for enrollment into the parent LETO study. In this revision R01DK120551
application, we propose to add enrollment of 500 white living kidney donors, which will convert LETO into a
powerful research platform to study racial disparities.
This expansion will allow us to address a new aim: to quantify and compare the risk of developing clinically
significant chronic kidney disease approximately two decades after donation in a national sample of black vs.
white living kidney donors, and to quantify the relative importance of biologic (genetic, unmodifiable) vs. non-
biologic (non-genetic, potentially modifiable) factors contributing to any observed health disparity.
We will use the same cost-effective “hybrid” study design—jointly analyzing data collected at home-based
research visits together with data collected as part of clinical care (as entered into a national registry)—that
greatly increases the number of person-years of follow-up and enhances study power.
We believe that findings from this study will strongly advocate for the adoption of policies such as such as
mechanisms for improved long-term follow-up and provision of lifelong health insurance to living donors--justified
not only as a moral imperative but also as a powerful tool to reduce racial disparities in access to living donor
transplant.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10164513
- **Project number:** 3R01DK120551-02S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO
- **Principal Investigator:** Chi-yuan Hsu
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $844,088
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-06-01 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10164513

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10164513, Living Donor Extended Time Outcomes (LETO) Study (3R01DK120551-02S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10164513. Licensed CC0.

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