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Kochi (Kerala) | A 21-year-old Nepalese woman, who underwent a heart transplant at the Ernakulam General Hospital, died while under treatment, hospital authorities said on Friday.

Durga Kami was undergoing post-transplant care when she developed respiratory complications on Thursday night, officials said.

Despite efforts by doctors to revive her, she died around 10.05 pm, they said.

She was suffering from a rare genetic heart condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

A native of Nepalgunj in Nepal, Kami had lost her parents and was living in an orphanage before coming to Kerala for the heart transplant.

Although she had registered with the Kerala State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (K-SOTTO), she was included on the priority list following the Kerala High Court's intervention.

The transplant surgery was performed on December 21, 2025 and was the first heart transplant conducted in a government general hospital in the state.

Hospital authorities said she had shown significant improvement following the surgery.

Kerala Health Minister Veena George said in a Facebook post that despite intense efforts, it was not possible to bring her back to life.

This extremely heartbreaking news was conveyed to her over the phone by the Superintendent of Ernakulam General Hospital, Dr Shahirsha, she said.

"After the life-support systems were withdrawn, she had returned to a stable condition. Physiotherapy had also been initiated, raising great hopes," the minister said.

She said that Ernakulam General Hospital team had done everything possible to save her life and bring her back to normalcy.

"Dr George Valooran said with deep sorrow that the last thing Kami told the doctors was to bring her books to read when they came the next day. The moment of seeing her from outside the ICU a few days after the surgery remains vivid in the mind," she said.

"We share the grief of the young woman's brother and her other loved ones," she added.