This is the saddest divorce story I’ve ever heard. A husband, a surgeon no less, donated a kidney to his wife. Now they are divorcing, and he calls reporters into his lawyers office to publicly demand that she either return the kidney or pay him $1.5 million for it. You can read the whole story here on CNN.
Dr. Richard Batista, a surgeon at Nassau University Medical Center in New Jersy, married his wife, Dawnel Batista, in 1990. They had three kids, and he saved her life with his kidney in 2001.  She filed for divorce in July 2005, although he claims she began having an extramarital affair 18 months to two years after receiving the kidney transplant. According to the reporter,  Batista fought back tears after talking about their bitter divorce battle. “There’s no deeper pain or betrayal from somebody you loved and devoted your whole life to,” he said.

His wife’s attorney denied that she had an affair while they were married.

Batista, 49, said he has no regrets about donating the kidney, only about the failed marriage. He said he still recalls the day after the surgery took place.

“There is no greater feeling on this planet. As God is my witness, I felt as if I could put my arm around Jesus Christ. It was unbelievable; I was walking on a cloud. To this day I would still do it again,” he said.
It’s not possible for him to get his kidney back, obviously. Is it fair for him to make the demand? Should a judge take it into consideration in the divorce proceedings? And isn’t this one of saddest divorce stories you’ve heard?

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