Kolkata, May 21: In what is claimed to be the first human-to-human heart transplant in eastern India, surgeons in a Kolkata private hospital on Monday transplanted the heart of a 21-year-old man who died in Bengaluru a day back on a 39-year-old patient from Jharkhand.
"This operation is being performed for the first time in the eastern region. This is a very major operation, we cannot comment on the outcomes now," said a hospital official.
The heart of 21-year-old man who died on Sunday in Bengaluru was flown to Kolkata and a green corridor was created for the heart to reach the hospital from the airport.
It reached the hospital very quickly in the peak hours when the city witnesses thick traffic.
According to the hospital officials, it was a very well-coordinated effort and the heart reached the hospital in just 18 minutes through the green corridor.
"We are very thankful to the traffic police and state administration that we got the heart here in 18 minutes," said a Fortis Hospital official.
The recipient is Dilchand Singh, 39, a patient of dialectic cardio-myopathy, who needed urgent replacement. The man hailing from Jharkhand has been admitted in Fortis since last few weeks.
The blood group (A-positive) of the deceased and the recipient matched, thereby making the transplant possible.
The operation went on for almost three hours. A team of trained doctors performed the complicated surgery.
After the operation, the patient is being kept under strict vigilance and his condition will be monitored regularly for the post-operative treatment.
"The heart was harvested at 7 a.m and by 11 a.m, it was here in the hospital. The state administration has helped us in the necessary documentation and providing us the green corridor," the official said.
"It is a moment of pride for our hospital and we are very much confident of the outcome. I am very much optimistic about the success of the operation," he added.
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Bengaluru (PTI): Days after cancelling his official tour to the Swiss Alpine town of Davos to take part in the WEF meet, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday said he will attend the event.
He is likely to leave for Davos on Tuesday, according to official sources.
"Of course, Delhi has given me permission, my leaders and the CM have also asked me to go there. I have been receiving calls that I should be part of discussions in Davos, so I'm making it a point to go there. My opposition friends are also advising me. Some times, we will have to take the advice of the opposition leaders, in the interest of the state we will all work together," Shivakumar told reporters on Tuesday.
The Deputy CM's office on Saturday had said that Shivakumar has cancelled his scheduled visit to World Economic Forum (WEF) meet in Davos, citing official and party related engagements in New Delhi and Bengaluru.
Opposition BJP had hit out at Shivakumar for cancelling Davos visit stating that at a time when the state desperately needs development and economic revival, the Deputy CM chose to skip this crucial global platform, citing "pressing engagements" in New Delhi and Bengaluru.
"The Congress government is at a crossroads, torn apart by an open power struggle between CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D K Shivakumar. Several supporters of the Deputy CM have openly spoken about a change in leadership post-Sankranti, and it now appears that Davos became the first casualty of this internal tug-of-war for power," state BJP President B Y Vijayendra said on 'X'.
Meanwhile, a Government of Karnataka delegation led by Minister for Large and Medium Industries M B Patil has departed for Davos on Sunday, to participate in the WEF Annual Meeting, to be held from January 19 to 23.
