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I got this through Markus Frind's blog Paradigm Shift - an article from the Chicago Tribune on Dating web sites for those with serious medical conditions.

"The second date is going well, so maybe now is a good time to bring up your colostomy bag. Herpes. Third-degree burns.

Dating can be challenging for singles with medical conditions. For 15 years, Ricky Durham watched as his younger brother dealt with the gastrointestinal inflammatory ailment known as Crohn's disease while trying to date.

"He had a colostomy bag, and this is a very good-looking boy," said Durham, 46, of Atlanta. "I started thinking, 'When do you tell someone you have a colostomy bag?' He didn't know how to approach this at all." After his brother's death at age 41 in 2004, Durham was inspired to start an Internet dating company where people with medical conditions could meet a love interest.

The site Prescription4Love.com is less than 2 years old and has 1,000 members."

That's brilliant isn't it? I wish I'd thought of it. Especially seeing the success Markus Frind has had with Plentyoffish.

The site offers search options for more than a dozen medical conditions including, arthritis, cancer, deafness, diabetes, epilepsy, herpes, HIV, HPV, obesity, alcoholism and "little people".

But there are other sites out there too - Positive Singles and DAWN-disabled-dating - for singles who are "differently abled". The first site is free but the latter costs $190 a year Subscription.

Allen Heinemann, a professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation with the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University talks about the difficulties of dating for some people

"There can be issues of transportation problems. Just getting out and about to meet people and socialize and meet one's pool of candidates." Singles may also be dealing with an overprotective family concerned with the risks of dating, he said. "We're also a society that values beauty, appearance and being able to engage in physical activity," Heinemann said. "People who cannot engage in physical activities are often marginalized." Wolf said she knows that feeling of being excluded and even considered paying someone to date her when she was in high school.

Mary Mocny, 24, of Chicago is one of DAWN's new clients.

"I realized I don't know anyone else who is an amputee," Mocny said. "I never knew what it was like to know someone who goes through the same issues and has the same troubles." Mocny has been a double amputee all her life. "Since birth, I've had multiple deformities," she said. "My legs were shorter and at the end, they curved inward. To give me more opportunities, they were amputated above the knee." In November, the dating service introduced Mocny to a man living in a different state whom she describes as "able-bodied." The two have been e-mailing and talking on the phone for eight months. Mocny said the newly forming relationship is going well, and the two hope to meet in person.

DAWN is more like a matchmaking service. Members sign up online and are paired. Each member is required to write a letter of introduction that is sent to potential matches.

Prescription4Love.com follows a more traditional online dating setup. Members search by ZIP code and medical condition. The site currently allows users to search more than 20 medical conditions and send e-mails to members of interest.

Hmmm. I quite like this idea. Whilst probably not as lucrative as Plenty of Fish there would definitely be a niche market for a dating site for people with serious medical problems. You could call it www.plentyoffishforsome.com. And it would be a great free service to offer people.

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