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08th Jan 2016

A man named Rich O’Dea used Tinder to find a kidney donor for his friend

Carl Kinsella

Better than an awkward date.

Opinions are often split over the dating app Tinder. Some people can’t keep their eyes and fingers off of it, other people lament the death of convincing a girl to date you by approaching her awkwardly in person.

But for Rich O’Dea and his friend Erika Bragan, the app turned out to be a literal life-saver.

When O’Dea asked a girl he’d matched with along to an Imagine Dragons concert, he’d never have imagined that she’d end up volunteering her kidney to his friend who was suffering from polycystic kidney disease.

O’Dea’s date, Jen Thomas told NWI Times: “When I got the news I was a match, I cried I was so excited,” she said. “This was basically handing me the reins and saying, ‘Take the wheel and help her.’ … It’s been the most gratifying experience of my life.”

“She’s a mom, and I’m a mom, and I know we live for our children,” said Thomas. “I could imagine not only what she was going through but what her kids were going through. What if they had to lose their mom if only someone would have helped?”

The donation was an unfettered success, and both women returned to work this week.

We, on the other hand, are unable to get a date – much less a vital organ.

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