Shiloh Heavenly Quine, 57, has been moved to a women's prison after receiving state-funded sex reassignment surgery

The first US inmate to receive state-funded sex reassignment surgery has been moved to a women's prison.

Convicted killer Shiloh Heavenly Quine, 57, was taken to the Central California Women's Facility on Wednesday, after previously serving time behind bars at a men's prison.

Quine, who has been living as a woman since 2009 and is serving a life sentence, underwent the sex reassignment surgery in December.

California prison officials agreed to pay for her operation in 2015 under the Eighth Amendment, which requires prisons to treatment for medical and mental health conditions, including gender dysphoria.

Her case led California to become the first state to set standards for transgender inmates to apply to receive the surgery.

Quine was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery for ransom and sentenced to life without parole after Shahid Ali Baig was shot dead in Los Angeles, California in 1980.

Baig's daughter said she objects to inmates getting taxpayer-funded surgery that is not readily available to non-criminals, regardless of the cost.

Farida Baig, who tried unsuccessfully to block Quine's surgery through the courts, previously said: 'My dad begged for his life.

'It just made me dizzy and sick. I'm helping pay for his surgery. I live in California. It's kind of like a slap in the face.'

Quine was previously held in Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, California, according to court documents filed in 2014.

Her case led a federal magistrate to provide transgender female inmates housed in men's facilities with items such as nightgowns, scarves and necklaces.