🦋 The people make #CelebrateLife so meaningful. 🌅 One of the greatest joys of Mid-America Transplant #CelebrateLife2026 was connecting outside the hospital and clinic with our patients, transplant recipients, living donors, donor families, and their loved ones. 💙💚 💐 Every #transplant journey is different, but each reminds us why this work matters—and of the extraordinary generosity, courage, trust, and partnership behind the #GiftOfLife.For our transplant teams, it is a privilege to care for patients across their journeys and especially meaningful to see them back in the community—walking, celebrating, reconnecting, and sharing hope with others.🤲🏽👟 🙏🏽 Deepest gratitude to our patients and families, to #LivingDonors and #DonorFamilies, and to Mid-America Transplant for the partnership that makes this #community possible. 🤝🏽 @drrushdafaruk | @SSMHealthSTL | @SSMHealth | @cardinalglennon 🦋 #CelebrateLife5K #Transplantation #OrganDonation #DonateLife #LivingDonation #GiftOfLife #SLUTransplant #SSMHealth #MidAmericaTransplant #StLouis #Community

🌅 A beautiful morning of community, gratitude, and hope at the 2026 #MidAmericaTransplant #CelebrateLife5K! 💫 🦋 Wonderful to join our @SSMHealthSTL-#SLUTransplant team and the broader #StLouis transplant community for this special annual event. 👟 Together with #DonorFamilies, #Transplant recipients, #LivingDonors, and community members, we celebrated life while honoring the extraordinary generosity that makes organ and tissue transplantation possible. 🤝🏽 We are grateful to Mid-America Transplant for bringing our community together and for its tremendous partnership and commitment to #OrganDonation, #Transplantation, education, #community➕ the #GiftOfLife. 💙💚 @AbualrubFadee @drrushdafaruk @nkf 🧡 🤲🏽 Thank You to our teams across @SSMHealth➕ @cardinalglennon for embracing every day with such dedication. A wonderful reminder of what generosity, partnership, and community can achieve. 🦋 💐 CelebrateLife5K #MidAmericaTransplant #SLUTransplant #SSMHealth #OrganDonation #Transplantation #DonateLife #GiftOfLife #StLouis 💙💚

📣 New publication in @FrontiersIn - Nephrology 📖 We are pleased to share our new work: 'Beyond the test: patient-reported concerns and worries regarding kidney conditions and #APOL1 genetic testing among Black patients' 🧬Among 200 Black adults in the #StLouis APOL1 cohort study with completed 3-month follow-up, 17.5% had an APOL1 high-risk genotype (2 risk variants). 🔵 At baseline, concerns about kidney conditions were substantial, with 39% of participants reporting being extremely concerned. At 3 months, concern remained unchanged in 45%, decreased in 36%, and increased in 19%. 🔵 APOL1 high-risk genotypes were more common among participants whose kidney concerns increased compared with those whose concerns decreased (29% vs 11%; P = 0.02). 🔵 Worry specifically related to having an APOL1 high-risk genotype declined from 14% at baseline to 8% at 3 months. These findings highlight the importance of understanding the patient experience alongside genetic risk and of developing patient-centered education, communication, and counseling around APOL1 genetic testing. 🤝🏽 We are deeply grateful to the participants who shared their experiences and made this work possible, ➕ to our dedicated co-authors: @renginels | Bryan Clair | @AlizaAnwarMemo1 | John Edwards | @KanaHelloKidney | @Barisafsar75 | Mark Schnitzler | Huiling Xiao | Amber Carriker | Fadee Abu Al Rub | Chi-yuan Hsu | Anthony Muiru | Barry Freedman | Marie Philipneri | @yasar_caliskan 🌟 We also thank the St. Louis APOL1 Study Collaborators for their partnership: Orhun Aydin | Ezequiel Bellorin Font | @AvaDelonai6124 | @HoujeijNourhan | Kevin Lee | @nephrom | @drrushdafaruk | Marilyn Maxwell | Mowaffaq Said | @Farzana_HoqueMD | Amy Mosman | Anne Buganski | Mary Lesko | Kenan Li| Enbal Shacham | @MaiVoMD We are especially grateful to Mid-America Transplant for invaluable support ➕commitment to our shared #StLouis kidney #community. 💙💚 🏥 @SSMHealthSTL | @SSMHealth | @slusom | #MidAmericaTransplant | @UCSF | @WakeForest We look forward to continuing to connect with our community around kidney health, transplantation, research, and education at upcoming events—including the Celebrate Life Walk, PKD Walk and ASN Kidney Week 💫 #Nephrology #APOL1 #KidneyDisease #GeneticTesting #Genomics #PatientCentered #KidneyHealth #ClinicalResearch 🧬 📖 Read the full open-access article and learn more about what patients report about kidney health and APOL1 genetic testing: lnkd.in/gNd8HbZm

✨Day 4 at @ttsorg 2026 — #LivingOrganDonation Honored to be part of one of the closing sessions of the 31st International Congress of #TheTransplantationSociety in Sydney: 🫶 Living Organ Donation in 2026: Unified Principles, Organ-Specific Nuances 🎤 I had the privilege of opening the presentations with: “Shared framework for living donor evaluation: medical, psychosocial, and ethical core” The session brought together perspectives spanning living kidney and liver donation, surgical challenges and functional outcomes, and predictive models and global registry insights to enhance donor safety. 🙏🏽 Grateful to our chairs Kwang Woong Lee ➕ Henry Pleass, and to fellow speakers Mireia Musquera , Dong Jin Joo ➕ Allan Massie for an engaging discussion focused on advancing the safety and care of living donors.💚💙 A wonderful way to close out an inspiring scientific program and four days of international exchange and collaboration. 🌏🤝🏽 📸 Stay tuned for Day 4 photos and a final #TTS2026 wrap-up from Sydney! 🇦🇺 #LivingDonation #LivingKidneyDonation #OrganDonation #KidneyTransplantation #Transplantation #DonorSafety #TransplantResearch #TTS2026 | @SSMHealthSTL | @SSMHealth | @nyulangone | @slusom | @slunephrons

📣🇦🇺 Opening Day at @ttsorg 2026 in Sydney! 🎉 A wonderful start to the 31st International Congress of #TheTransplantationSociety, made especially meaningful as we celebrate 60 years of #TTS. 🤝🏽 💙 So special to reconnect with longtime colleagues and friends, make new connections across our global transplant community. My joy includes connecting with the many remarkable #WomenInTransplantation who inspire, mentor, collaborate, and lead. 👩‍⚕️🌎 Beatriz Domínguez-Gil | @DrMaceyLevan | @m_mcphaden | Jayme Locke | Mariella Ortigosa Goggins | @WoodsideKenneth | @ignatius_tang | @dalecgardiner | Peter Stock 🤲🏽 🏅 Congratulations to @ttsorg on this remarkable 60-year milestone—and to everyone who has helped advance transplantation and improve the lives of patients and families around the world. 💚🦋 🔬☀️ Looking forward to sharing science, exchanging ideas, and building collaborations that move our field forward in beautiful Sydney! 🇦🇺 #TTS2026 #Transplantation #TransplantResearch #WomenInMedicine #WomenInTransplantation #Sydney | @SSMHealthSTL | @SSMHealth | @slusom🏥

🇦🇺 Excited to be in Sydney for @ttsorg 2026 — the 31st International Congress of #TheTransplantationSociety! Looking forward to several days of new science, thoughtful discussion, and reconnecting with colleagues and friends from across the global #TransplantCommunity.🌏🦋 Grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the program and looking forward to a great Congress. 🏥 Innovation through collaboration — let’s get started! 💙💚 #TTS2026 #Transplantation #TransplantResearch #Sydney | @SSMHealthSTL @SSMHealth @slusom 🤝🏽

✈️ From @ATCMeeting 2026 to @ttsorg Sydney! 🌏 As I head to Sydney for #TheTransplantationSociety (#TTS) Congress, I’m reflecting on a highlight from the #AmericanTransplantCongress (#ATC) 2026— the opportunity to present findings from the #LivingDonorExtendedTimeOutcomes (#LETO) Study during the ATC plenary session. 🎤 “Impact of Donor #APOL1 Genotype on 15-Year #LivingDonor Kidney Transplant Graft and Patient Outcomes: Results from the Living Donor Extended Time (#LETO) Study” 🧬 These findings advance our understanding of the long-term impact of donor genetics on transplant outcomes. As transplantation moves further into the era of precision medicine, LETO is helping define how genomic information can inform risk, personalize care, and support thoughtful decision-making for living donors and recipients. 🤝🏽 Deepest gratitude to our outstanding multidisciplinary co-authors and collaborators whose expertise, teamwork, and commitment made this science possible: Chi-yuan Hsu | @emp802 | Mark Schnitzler | @mannonmom | Huiling Xiao | Anthony Muiru | Ying Gao | @MitchellLunnLunn | Barry Freedman | Jasmin Divers | Nicholette Palmer | Amy Karger ➕the entire #APOL1 Long-Term Outcomes Study (#APOLLO) & LETO consortium 🧬🤲🏽 💙💚 It was wonderful to share the experience at ATC with valued colleagues and friends from across the APOLLO & transplant community: @D_M_Dadhania | @henryrandall60 ➕ More. Grateful for the camaraderie, collaboration, and shared commitment to advancing transplantation science. 🙏🏽 Above all, we honor and thank the living donors and transplant recipients whose generosity and participation made this research possible. Their contributions are at the heart of this work and our continued efforts to improve transplantation and living donor care 💙💚 Thank you to the @ATCMeeting for the opportunity to share this work and engage with colleagues committed to advancing genetics-informed approaches in transplantation. 🔗 Read the abstract: lnkd.in/dxqm4Vmp 🔗 Read coverage of the findings: lnkd.in/dru3Cvu9 @SSMHealthSTL @SSMHealth @UCSFNephrology @NebraskaMed @wakeforestmed @slusom @NYUnephro @slunephrons ✈️ 🌏 Next stop: Sydney and #TTS2026! Looking forward to reconnecting with colleagues from around the world, sharing science, and continuing conversations about the future of transplantation. 🇦🇺 🦋 🏥#ATC2026 #TTS2026 #TransplantScience #TransplantResearch #KidneyTransplantation #LivingKidneyDonation #LivingDonation #APOL1 #Genomics #PrecisionMedicine #ClinicalResearch 🧬 💙💚

👠✨ Walking together to advance #LivingDonation. ✨👞 ⭕️ One of the highlights of this year’s @ATCMeeting (ATC) 2026 was the @AST_info #LivingDonorCircleOfExcellence event. The evening included welcoming #JohnFluevog and Ruth Fluevog and hearing John’s inspiring transplant journey.🎤 As transplant professionals, we’re privileged to witness the remarkable generosity of living donors every day. Their gift changes lives - not only through transplantation, but by giving recipients more time, more health, and more moments with the people they love. 💙💚 👠⭐ A partnership that brings together creativity, philanthropy, and advocacy: Through “The Patty” and “The Alan” shoe collection, John and Ruth Fluevog are helping raise awareness of living donation while supporting the #AST #LivingDonorCircle of Excellence, which recognizes employers who provide paid leave for employees recovering from living donation surgery.⭕️ 🏥 🙏🏽 Thank You, John and Ruth, for sharing your story, your generosity, and your passion with our transplant community. Partnerships like these help inspire conversations, remove barriers, and encourage more people to learn about the life-saving impact of living donation and #OrganTransplants. 👞 Together, let’s keep taking steps toward a future where every patient has the opportunity for a life-saving transplant. 💙💚🦋 ⭕️ Learn more: LivingDonorCircle.com 🤝🏽 #LivingDonation #OrganDonation #DonateLife #Transplantation #JohnFluevog #Fluevog #GivingBack | @AMLiapakis | @D_M_Dadhania | @VineetaKumar8 | @Mattcoopmd1 | @mannonmom | @SSMHealthSTL | @nkf | @NKF_KSMO @DonateLife | @AST_LDCOP | @AST_KPCOP | @AST_LICOP | #AmericanTransplantCongress2026 💙💚🦋

🤝🏽🌟Thank You for your leadership ​of this important work, @yasar_caliskan ! ​🧬

📣 Pleased to share the '2024 OPTN/SRTR Annual Data Report: #Kidney', now published in the American Journal of Transplantation. 📊 The #AnnualDataReport (#ADR) provides a comprehensive overview of #KidneyTransplantation in the United States, including national trends in waiting lists, deceased and living donation, transplantation, and outcomes. 🤝🏽 Developed through the collaborative efforts of data analysts, biostatisticians, clinical experts, transplant professionals, and colleagues across the transplant community, the report is intended to inform research, policy, and clinical care in support of transplant candidates, recipients, living donors, donor families, and all those working to advance transplantation. The Annual Data Report was produced with contract support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). 📖 Read the full report (free access): lnkd.in/gV8-vqEA 🆓 Additional ADR resources, figures, and data are available through @SRTRNews: lnkd.in/gB7WZARS #KidneyTransplant #Transplantation #Nephrology #OrganDonation #LivingDonation #SRTR #OPTN 💙💚 🦋

🔭 “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” — Isaac Newton 🤲🏽 Honored to begin serving as Division Director of #Nephrology at @SSMHealthSTL, effective July 1. 🔵 More than 20 years ago, I joined @slusom as my first faculty appointment after completing fellowship training at @StanfordMed. Moving from the West Coast to the Midwest was a leap of faith, inspired by the opportunity to build a career devoted to improving the lives of people with #KidneyDisease through patient care, research, education, and innovation. 🏥 Over the past two decades, I have had the privilege of working to advance the field of kidney #transplantation, particularly through research and policy focused on improving long-term outcomes for #LivingDonors and #Transplant patients. None of this would have been possible without the extraordinary mentors, colleagues, trainees, collaborators, research participants, and patients who have inspired, challenged, and trusted me along the way. 🤝🏽 Dr. #KevinMartin’s three decades of leadership established a culture of excellence in clinical care, education, and research that continues to define our Division today. More recently, #JohnEdwards guided our Division with wisdom, integrity, and humility while making pioneering scientific contributions that transform understanding of #APOL1-associated kidney disease 🧬. I am forever grateful for Dr. Edwards' mentorship, friendship, and example, and we look forward to celebrating his remarkable career at a Festschrift in 2027. 🙏🏽 I am also deeply grateful for the guiding leadership of our Chair, @RaviNayakMD , who sets a tone of engagement and excellence throughout our Department; for the support of leadership across @SSMHealth and @SLU_Official; and for the collegiality and dedication across our #InternalMedicine Department faculty and staff. 💫 As we look to the future, I am excited to work alongside our exceptional faculty, fellows, APPs, nurses, coordinators, researchers, and staff to build on this extraordinary foundation. Together, we will continue advancing outstanding patient care, educating the next generation of nephrologists, expanding scientific discovery, and improving the lives of patients with kidney disease and those touched by organ donation and transplantation.🤝🏽 @slunephrons | @AlizaAnwarMemo1 | @renginels | @KanaHelloKidney | @nephrom | @MowaffaqSaid | @AbualrubFadee➕ Many More🤝🏽 🙏🏽 Thank You to everyone who has encouraged, challenged, mentored, and supported me throughout this journey. It is a privilege to serve this remarkable team, and I look forward to the work ahead. 🌟 #Nephrology #InternalMedicine #AcademicMedicine #Mentorship #Collaboration #Teamwork 💙💚🩺

📣 Hot off the press (June 22)! 📖 🤲🏽 Honored to share the publication of findings from the ‘#LivingDonorExtended Time Outcomes’ (#LETO) Study, an ancillary study of the ‘#APOL1 Long-term Kidney Transplantation Outcomes’ (#APOLLO) Network Study: “#Apolipoprotein L1 Gene Genotype and Kidney Outcomes After #LivingKidneyDonation” 🧬 Key finding: APOL1 genotype is a significant risk factor for reduced kidney function following living kidney donation. These results support #APOL1Genotyping for Black living kidney donor candidates in the U.S. to improve risk stratification and informed decision-making. 📄 Read the @JAMAInternalMed article: jamanetwork.com/journals/jam… 🎤 If you’re attending the @ATCMeeting (#ATC) 2026, please join us for presentations on LETO: • June 23, 9:00 AM — Abstract 921, Plenary Session | Ballroom • June 23, 10:09 AM — Abstract 938 | Room 253A 🙏🏽We are grateful to the @NIDDKgov for funding this work and to our outstanding collaborators: Chi-yuan Hsu, Ying Gao, Barry I. Freedman, @MitchellLunn , Anthony Muiru, Mark Schnitzler, Jasmin Divers, @mannonmom, Nicholette Palmer, Amy Karger, @KristaLentine *, and @emp802* | @UCSFTransplant | @slunephrons | @SSMHealthSTL | @slusom | @wakeforestmed | @NebraskaMed | @nyuniversity 🫶🏼 🤝🏽 We look forward to the discussion and to advancing our understanding of #genetic tools that can help improve the safety and long-term outcomes of living kidney donation.🧬 💙💚 #KidneyDonation #Transplantation #LivingDonation #PrecisionMedicine #Genetics #APOL1 #APOLLOStudy #LETO #ClinicalResearch #ATC2026 🦋