Kidney medic ‘real blessing’ for province
Mangena is Limpopo’s only nephrologist
The weight of treating kidney ailments in Limpopo rests on the shoulders of one doctor.
Polokwane-based Dr Phetho Mangena, 35, is the only certified nephrologist in a province with one of the biggest renal care units in the country.
Mangena studied medicine at the University of Cape Town.
He was inspired to specialise in nephrology – which focuses on treating kidney-related diseases – after assisting a specialist during his internship.
Mangena was born in exile in Botswana and lived in Zimbabwe until he was 12-years-old because his father was an activist against apartheid. His family returned to South Africa in 1994, the year of the country’s first democratic elections.
He said he always wanted a career in the scientific field.
“For me going into medicine was a combination of two things: my love for the sciences and working with people. I enjoy applying science on people,” Mangena said.
The renal unit at Pietersburg Hospital in Polokwane, where he works, has about 200 patients from all over the province on dialysis.
When Sowetan visited the unit yesterday, there were 60 patients on the dialysis machines while 20 had come for consultations. The unit operates 24 hours a day because of the high number of patients.
“This is a big strain on the staff but there is some positive because patients get assisted, but it also means that patients have to wait longer,” he said.
Mangena said the increasing number of people with lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure has also caused an escalation in kidney diseases. This had increased demand for his specialist skills.
He said even though he is the only qualified nephrologist in the province, he is supported by a Cuban colleague, Dr Ramon Tamayo.
Mangena added that the province still had a long way to go before reaching optimum care for people with kidney diseases. He said one of the province’s biggest problems was that it does not have a surgeon to perform kidney transplants. Patients have to be referred to a facility in Gauteng.
Mangena said an ideal situation would be for all patients on dialysis to get transplants, though securing donors was a big challenge.
Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba said Mangena’s decision to work at the unit was a blessing as he’s the only nephrologist in the province, including private sector.
‘‘ My love for science and working with people prompted me into medicine