Durga Kami, a 22-year-old woman from Nepal, died on Thursday after suffering a respiratory arrest. She had undergone a heart transplant in December at Ernakulam General Hospital, the first district hospital in India to perform this surgery. Durga was taken off ventilator support on Wednesday, raising hopes for her recovery. Health Minister Veena George confirmed her death in a Facebook post, saying, "Life support was removed the previous day, and she had subsequently showed a return to normal condition. This had infused much hope. She had requested Dr. George Valuran to bring her books to read the next day." However, Durga's condition worsened on Thursday morning, and she was placed back on the ventilator and ECMO support before passing away by evening. She had been under treatment in India for nearly a year for heart problems. The transplant was done under judicial intervention, as foreign nationals like Durga typically have the lowest priority for donor hearts in India. Her guardian is on the way from Nepal, and the hospital will decide on the handling of her remains soon. Dr. Shajan Varghese, who helped bring her to India, said she was to start nutritional intake and light exercise Thursday but suffered the arrest instead.