He once gave his kidney to her because he loved her so much; now, following a dramatic divorce, he is demanding it back.
A doctor from New York is suing his divorced wife, stating that she needs to give back his kidney or pay him $1.5 million.
A well-known vascular surgeon from Long Island, Cornell graduate, and father of three, Dr. Richard Batista gave his wife his kidney in 2001 in an ironic attempt to preserve both their marriage and her life.
Dawnell Batista survived, but the marriage gamble did not work out.
He has accused her of having an extramarital affair since she filed for divorce.
“There is no greater pain than betrayal from someone you loved and devoted your entire life to,” Dr. Batista, 49, stated to local media.
When they first got together twenty years ago, she was a student nurse and he was a resident.
After falling in love, they got married in 1990 and had three daughters. But the marriage started to deteriorate gradually.
Nevertheless, her spouse did not hesitate to assist her when Mrs. Batista, a nurse, experienced renal failure in 2001.
I was married to her. He stated, “My main goal was to save her life and our children’s future, and in doing so, I hoped to preserve our marriage.”
“There was no greater feeling than when I donated blood the following day on my way down the hallway to visit her in the adjoining room,” he was quoted by CBS saying.
“I felt like I could put my arm around Jesus Christ, and God is my witness.” It was unbelievable. I was moving through a cloud. I still think I made the right decision for her. I could still manage it again.
Then, Mrs. Batista initiated a divorce in 2005. Now, Dr. Batista has thrown him out of their $1 million Massapequa home and accused her of having an affair.
The reason for his lawsuit, according to him, was that his wife was preventing him from seeing their three children, who are now eight, eleven, and fourteen years old.
He told the media, “I saved her life.” I’m dying of this distance.
Mrs. Batista has not yet made any public remarks.
Physicians told CBS that it would be practically impossible to return the kidney in addition to being unethical.
An organ cannot be exchanged for anything of value, according to Georgetown University’s Kennedy Institute of Ethics. Organ donation is regarded as a gift in the US, where organs cannot be bought or sold.
