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Driven to the edge, Indians are crowdsourcing aid to cope with a rampaging virus
At a time when the administration and healthcare infrastructure are overwhelmed, online networking has come to the rescue.
Synopsis
They are turning to social media to crowdsource everything from financial help to medical equipment. They’re inundating Twitter and Instagram with requests for hospital beds, oxygen supplies, antiviral drugs, and convalescent plasma donors. Google docs, websites, and web apps have been created to aggregate what’s being shared. But given the unprecedented situation, it’s unclear how far this will go.
By Varsha BansalSohini Chattopadhyay had almost given up her medical quest before deciding to try one last bizarre idea. Chattopadhyay, 30, and her friends were looking for a plasma donor for a childhood pal who was battling Covid-19 in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata. The woman’s oxygen levels were plummeting, and doctors said that “convalescent pl