A Cypriot national who died in a car accident has donated her heart to a 45-year-old woman in Israel who had been waiting almost two years for a transplant.

The transplant was successfully completed at the Rabin medical centre in Tel Aviv on Friday after a 26-hour operation involving medical teams from Cyprus, Greece and Israel, the hospital said on Sunday.

Israeli authorities were informed on Thursday morning that a heart from the Cypriot donor was available.

Tests confirmed it was suitable and doctors immediately began searching for a suitable recipient.

The heart was scheduled for removal in Nicosia at 3am on Friday.

Four medical teams worked simultaneously. The Israeli team removed the heart, while teams from Cyprus and Greece recovered the lungs, liver and kidneys for other recipients.

The Israeli team was then taken by helicopter to Larnaca airport. The aircraft landed in Israel at 7.40am and the heart reached the operating theatre less than an hour later.

Doctors subsequently informed their Cypriot colleagues that the transplant had been completed successfully.

Dr Tamar Ashkenazi, director of Israel’s national transplant centre, said the operation required close coordination between medical teams, hospitals, airports and customs authorities.

“Every hour was critical,” she said, stressing the need for precise coordination throughout the process.

The donation was part of continued cooperation between Cyprus and Israel in organ transplantation.

Rabin Medical Centre said Cypriot patients have also benefited from the cooperation in recent years.