Man demands ex-wife give back his kidney or pay £1.2m

Divorces can be nasty and conflicts in marriages usually arise when two people decide to split their assets including homes and other belongings.

However, in a surprising incident, a man has demanded back his kidney from his wife following their divorce, Indy100 reported.

When Dr Richard Batista’s wife, Dawnell, filed for divorce, he demanded that she either return the kidneys he gave her or pay £1.2 million as compensation.

Batista said that his marriage had already been on the rocks as a result of his wife's medical issues, yet it didn't stop him from giving her his kidney to save her life. The doctor said he thought the donation would help him keep his marriage together.

He said: "My priority was to save her life. The second bonus was to turn the marriage around."

While the procedure ended up saving Dawnell's life, it unfortunately did not save the marriage, as she filed for divorce in 2005.

Batista subsequently accused her of having an affair and demanded that she return his kidney or pay £1.2 million in compensation.

However, the request was discarded on medical grounds.

Medical ethicist Robert Veatch stated: "It's her kidney now, and taking the kidney out would mean she would have to go on dialysis or it would kill her."

The Nassau County Supreme Court rejected his request, ruling that the kidney was a gift.

"The defendant's effort to pursue and extract monetary compensation therefore not only runs afoul of the statutory prescription but conceivably may expose the defendant to criminal prosecution," matrimonial referee Jeffrey Grob said.