How A COVID-19 Patient’s Friend Found Plasma Donor Through Tinder

The friends had downloaded Tinder after one of them suggested that dating apps had often come to her rescue.

When Indira Roy (name changed) and her two friends stopped by a popular eatery late on Monday, 19 April, they had exhausted all options in finding a plasma donor for their 30-year-old friend, after hospital staff indicated that the COVID-19 patient with dipping oxygen levels could soon be in need of plasma therapy.

Hungry and tired, the trio had just unwrapped their meal when Roy, a research scholar, suggested that dating apps had often come to her rescue when everything else failed. And that’s when one of her two friends installed Tinder, hoping to find help.

“One of my friends downloaded Tinder and set-up an account. In her bio, she wrote ‘bonus if you are A+ COVID-19 recovered plasma donor’. We started collectively swiping and two hours later, a person messaged saying he was ready to help.”

Indira Roy (name changed)

Overwhelmed at having found a plasma donor through Tinder, Roy and her two friends were told by the match that he had recovered a little over 90 days and was ready to help.

But while the trio saved the number and wanted to follow-up with the Tinder match, their friend who needed it was out of danger, as her oxygen level had increased from 81 on Monday to 92 on Tuesday.

When Everything Else Failed

Roy, however, wonders what would have happened had her friend not recuperated as quickly as she did. The friend, she says, was admitted to a hospital following repeated bouts of vomiting coupled with high fever.

“My friend was initially admitted to a government hospital, where she got an X-ray done and was provided with an oxygen bed. However, as her vomiting didn’t stop, we shifted her to a private facility, where too, her oxygen level was dropping.”

Indira Roy (name changed)

Although the doctor hadn’t officially prescribed a plasma treatment, the three were asked to keep a tab on blood-group appropriate plasma donors. They then ran their contacts through multiple sources, including the police and other social media platforms. However, when police sources cited a waiting period of three to four days, the three grew increasingly worried.

However, as luck would have it, they found a possible ‘match’ on Tinder, when all state apparatus appeared to fail.

When asked whether they would meet the Tinder match in question, Roy said “yes, we plan to do that and thank him. But it will be extremely awkward for all of us.”