Woman to receive life-saving kidney donation, matched through Tinder

TAMPA, Fl. -- It's a popular dating app, but it turns out Tinder can be a life-saver.

A mother of two in Florida desperately needed a kidney and found a donor through the app..and she wasn't even on it.

Now two women are getting ready for surgeries that will change their lives.

One is donating a kidney to the other, after learning about her plight during a blind date.

Their story went viral after we first shared it weeks ago, but now the day these women have been waiting for is finally here.

"Well, we met on Tinder, and we went on one date," Jennifer Thomas said.

Swiping right now has a whole different meaning for Jennifer Thomas and Rich O'Dea.

"I think we met for a purpose, and a life is going to be saved because of it," O'Dea said.

That life is Erika Bragan's, who suffers from a genetic disorder called Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD).

Wednesday morning, Jennifer will be donating her own kidney to Rich's friend Erika, who was a complete stranger a few weeks ago.

"You feel like you're giving something up for someone else, but in the giving, you receive so much more. I feel just like a better person, I feel like I've discovered why I'm here," Jennifer said.

Tuesday, Bragan prepped for surgery, but said she was in shock that someone like Thomas is real - and here.

"I never thought that it would actually happen, that I would get a live donor, and that someone would be willing to part with a kidney just to help me and my family," she said.

For years, O'Dea ran marathons and held fundraisers for his friend with PKD, but she never imagined a blind date would lead her to a donor just in time.

"Erika's kidneys are literally failing and they weren't going to make it until the end of this year so the timing even is just incredible," said O'Dea.

Jennifer said the opportunity to save a life is one she won't soon forget.

"Being able to do this for someone has changed my life," she said.

at, I mean that's wonderful. A lot of people do that, but I've gained something a lot better," said Jennifer.