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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Agra/Lucknow, Mar 26 (PTI): An aircraft carrying Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath made an emergency landing at the Agra airport shortly after take off due to a technical snag, officials said.

The chief minister resumed his journey to Lucknow after over two hours, they said.

Adityanath was in Agra for a public event to mark the eighth anniversary of the BJP government in the state.

"After the programme, the chief minister was scheduled to leave from the Kheria Airport in Agra around 3.30 pm. The aircraft took off but returned shortly apparently due to a snag, which was then inspected by officials," a police official told PTI.

"The chief minister finally resumed his onward journey around 5.30 pm from Kheria," the official added.

Senior Agra district administration and police officials remained at the airport while the chief minister waited there. BJP supporters and local politicians were also present outside the airport.

Earlier in the day, Adityanath inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 128 projects worth Rs 635.22 crore at 'Vikas Utsav' held in Agra to mark the completion of eight years of his government.

"Residents of Agra now have access to metro rail services, officially making Agra a metro city. The construction of the civil terminal at the airport is in its final stages," he said, adding that previous governments failed to provide these facilities.