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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Panaji (PTI): A court in North Goa on Wednesday remanded Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, co-owners of the ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ nightclub, in police custody for five days.

The brothers, brought to Goa from Delhi after being deported from Thailand in connection with the December 6 blaze that killed 25, were produced in the court after undergoing health check-ups twice at the District Hospital in North Goa.

Judicial Magistrate First Class Mapusa Puja Sardesai remanded the two brothers in police custody for five days.

Advocate Vishnu Joshi, representing Bhavana Joshi who lost four family members in the tragedy, said that the accused were asking for “special consideration” claiming poor health.

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“We said they should not be given any extra relaxation,” he said, adding that the court has taken cognisance of the fact that this is about the death of “25 people in the form of mass genocide”.

“But since they kept pressing for medical check-up, the court ordered reexamination of their health. It is clear in the medical examination that they don’t require any consideration. The accused sought special considerations in the lock-up like a good mattress, which the court refused,” said Joshi.

A team of the Goa Police, along with the Luthra brothers, arrived at the Manohar International Airport, Mopa, in North Goa at 10.45 am.

The duo was initially taken to a Primary Health Centre at Siolim for medical examination. They were then taken to the District Hospital at Mapusa.

After their health assessment, the two were brought to the court.

The court directed that the accused be sent for fresh medical examination. Accordingly, the two were again taken to the District Hospital.

Later, they were produced before Judge Sardesai, who ordered the five-day police custody of the accused.

After the fire tragedy at Arpora village, the Anjuna police had registered a case against the Luthra brothers on various charges, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

The brothers were arrested in Delhi on Tuesday after being deported from Thailand. A court there allowed the Goa Police their two-day transit remand.

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The duo had fled to Phuket in Thailand early on December 7, hours after the fire at their nightclub, prompting the authorities to issue an Interpol Blue Corner Notice and cancel their passports.

They were detained by Thai authorities at Phuket on December 11 following a request from the Indian government, which later coordinated with officials in Thailand to deport them under legal treaties between the two nations.

Five managers and staff members have already been arrested by the Goa Police in connection with the fire.