NY woman finds love and organ donor on Tinder
It took a moment for Alana Duran to realize that this wasn't an ordinary gift from her girlfriend. At the bottom of the box was a message she'd seen before: "it's a match."
Alana met her girlfriend Lori on Tinder. But this match meant so much more. For Alana, who was suffering from lupus and was on dialysis, it meant someone was saving her life.
Alana posted the video on her Facebook page back in November and it's since gone viral, getting over a quarter million views. Lori's surprise to her girlfriend -- someone she had only met weeks before -- that she was a match to donate her kidney.
Alana's own family wasn't a donor match so she had no choice but to get on the waiting list. That is when Lori decided to see if she could help.
Lori was planning the perfect way to break the news. And once she found out she could donate she went straight to Lori's house with the gift in hand.
Now three days out of surgery at Stony Brook University Hospital on Long Island, Alana and Lori are still in it together, recovering at the hospital, and, yes, sporting matching scars as promised. A testament to their bond; something Lori's parents say amazes even them.
Today Alana is free of dialysis. She is a little tired and a little sore but not too bad. And doctors say her new kidney is working just fine.
Alana and Lori hope their story inspires others to donate. Right now New York has one of the lowest donation rates in the country. And Alana says she can't help but think that if it weren't for Lori she would still be on that waiting list.