The shocking story of a man who demanded his kidney back after getting divorced has resurfaced online, leaving people shocked.
Dr. Richard Batista, a prominent Long Island vascular surgeon, Cornell graduate and father of three, gave his kidney to his wife, Dawnell, when she suffered kidney failure in 2001, in a desperate attempt to save her life and their marriage.
But when they separated four years later, he demanded that Dawnell return the kidney he had donated to her or pay him $1.5 million.
The couple met in the 1980s, while Richard was a resident and Dawnell a trainee nurse.
They soon fell in love and married in 1990, and had three daughters, but the marriage slowly began to fall apart.
When Dr. Richard Batiste and his wife Dawnell separated in 2005, he demanded that she return the kidney he had donated to her or pay him $1.5 million in compensation.
Richard claimed their relationship was already in trouble when Dawnell suffered kidney failure in 2001 and needed a kidney transplant, although he did not hesitate to give her his organ when he discovered she was a match.
‘She was my wife. “My priority was to save his life, save his life and the future of our children and hopefully with that in mind keep the marriage alive,” he said. C.B.S. in 2009.
‘When I donated…the next day, standing, going down the hall to visit her in the next room, there was no greater feeling on this planet.
‘God is my witness that I felt like I could put my arm around Jesus Christ.
‘(It was) incredible. I was walking on a cloud. I did the right thing for her to this day. I could still do it again.’
Four years later, in 2005, although Dawnell Batista was alive, the bid for marriage had failed, leading her to file for divorce.
So far, Dawnell (pictured) has not commented publicly, but needless to say, Richard did not get either the kidney or compensation during the divorce process.
However, Richard accused the mother of his children of having an affair and kicking him out of their million-dollar home in Massapequa.
“There is no deeper pain you can express than the betrayal of someone you loved and to whom you dedicated your entire life,” Richard, now 64, told local media at the time.
He also claimed he was suing for the kidney because his wife had denied him contact with their three children, who were eight, 11 and 14 years old.
‘I saved his life. “This divorce is killing me,” he told reporters, and also demanded that his wife compensate him with $1.5 million if the organ was not returned.
Needless to say, Richard did not get either the kidney or the compensation during the divorce proceedings.
In a 10-page decision, the Nassau County Supreme Court denied his request and ruled that the kidney was a gift.
The doctors said C.B.S. that an operation to return the kidney was not only unethical but almost impossible.
The Kennedy Institute of Ethics at Georgetown University reports that it is illegal to exchange an organ for anything of value. In the United States, organs cannot be bought or sold, and donating them is considered a gift.
After the story resurfaced online, people quickly shared their surprise.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” one said.
”Until death do us part…” said another.
“It’s hers legally, as ‘I gave her’ is the key phrase here,” said another.