Transplant a success after donated heart retrieved from LA helicopter crash

A California hospital has carried out a successful heart transplant operation after the helicopter carrying the donated organ crashed on landing.

Footage of the incident showed the helicopter lying on its side on the hospital's roof.

After firefighters managed to retrieve the organ, a medical worker tripped over and dropped it, before it was picked up again and rushed inside.

A hospital spokesperson told AFP news agency the patient was doing well.

"The heart itself was fine after being dropped," the spokesperson said.

Keck Hospital said the patient was doing well following the transplant

The incident at the University of Southern California's Keck Hospital in Los Angeles happened on Friday.

Officials say the pilot suffered minor injuries when the aircraft crashed on the roof-top helipad, while the two other people on board are reportedly unscathed.

Nobody on the ground or in the hospital was injured, the hospital said, and patient care was not disrupted.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the crash.