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Indian dating app TrulyMadly has launched a plasma matchmaking feature on its Corona Clusters platform to help match COVID-19 positive patients with plasma donors on the basis of their blood group, diagnosis date, and location.

Patients who require plasma can visit the website, and click on ‘register request’ to fill out a form, while plasma donors between the ages of 18 and 60 years old can sign up to get listed on the website. Nearly 290 plasma donors have registered so far, and 467 plasma requests have been raised on the platform.

India is in the throes of a widespread second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has put severe pressure on the country’s healthcare system. An acute shortage of oxygen, medicines, hospital beds, and an inefficient vaccination drive has taken the lives of thousands of people.

“The second wave of the pandemic has severely affected the country and despite the information being available, it is largely unverified or dated in nature and only adding to the information overload. We decided to use the underlying technology of our matchmaking engine for couples to also help COVID-19 patients meet the right plasma donor,” TrulyMadly’s CEO and Co-founder Snehil Khanor said.

The New Delhi-based startup had last year launched its Corona Clusters initiative, which using verified, crowdsourced data, helped people learn important pandemic-related information, in real-time. The website contains links to state-wise COVID-19 helpline numbers, WHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC’s) latest COVID-19 protocols and guidance, as well as a global tracker that tracks infected and recovered numbers, worldwide.

Earlier in the day, the country reported 3.6 lakh new cases, hitting another single-day record. Countries such as Singapore, the US, and Saudi Arabia have offered support in the form of oxygen cylinders, and unused vaccine vials.

The vaccination drive in India, particularly, has taken a hit because of an acute shortage. According to government data, India shipped 66 million doses of vaccine overseas since January. The most recent shipment, to Paraguay, was on April 22, the day the country’s reported the biggest spike in new infections.