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Hubby Wants Kidney Back in Divorce

Doc wants cheating wife to return donation or pony up $1.5M

By Ambreen Ali, Newser User

Posted Jan 8, 2009 8:40 AM CST

(Newser) – A doctor is demanding that his soon-to-be ex-wife return his donated kidney—or at least the $1.5 million he says the transplant is worth—as the pair divvy up their assets in a divorce, Newsday reports. Richard Batista says his wife jumped into bed with her physical therapist just two years after the transplant and then filed for divorce, the New York Post reports, though the therapist denies the charge. Either way, it's unlikely he'll get compensated, since the kidney was a gift—organs can't be legally bought or sold—and it's now hers.

"There's nothing later you can get in terms of compensation if you regret your gift," says a medical ethicist. Batista, a surgeon, doesn't really expect to see any compensation, his lawyer says, but wants to draw attention to his wife's betrayal and the fact that she's denying him visitation rights to their three kids. The transplant was her third; both her father and her brother donated kidneys earlier.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (2)]

Batista is seeking $1.5 million for the value of a kidney he provided his soon-to-be ex. (Newsday)

Medical ethicists say it's impossible that Batista will get compensated for his donated kidney. (Newsday)

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I saved her life and then,
to be betrayed like this, is unfathomable. It's incomprehensible.
- Dr. Richard Batista

A price can't be placed on a human organ but it does have a value. - Dominic Barbara, Batista's attorney

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

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Hubby Wants Kidney Back in Divorce