The 22-year-old, who was under treatment at the hospital post-surgery, was taken off ventilator support on Wednesday. After suffering a respiratory arrest on Thursday morning, she was placed on ventilator and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support. Her guardian is en route from Nepal, and a decision regarding the handling of her mortal remains will be taken later, sources said.
“She was scheduled to commence nutritional intake and light exercise starting Thursday. However, she suffered a respiratory arrest in the morning,” said Dr. Shajan Varghese, chief medical officer, St. Joseph’s Hospital, Kothamangalam, who was instrumental in bringing her to India for treatment.
The heart transplant surgery was performed in December at the General Hospital following a judicial intervention. Though Durga was on the super-urgent heart transplant list as her condition could lead to fatal complications, as per law, a foreign national figures last in the priority list of recipients. The law stipulates that Indian nationals requiring heart transplants should be given priority when donor hearts are allocated. However, the Kerala High Court issued orders following which the heart, retrieved from 46-year-old S. Shibu, a Kollam native who was declared brain-dead at the Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, was transplanted to her.
With the procedure, the Ernakulam General Hospital hospital became the first district hospital in India to perform a heart transplant, according to the authorities.
Kami had been seeking medical treatment in India for close to a year for heart ailment.
Published – January 22, 2026 10:30 pm IST
