Kolkata, May 21 (IANS): 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.