Man wants kidney back from estranged wife
(NECN/ABC) - During the summer of 1990, Dr. Richard Batista gave his wife his heart. More than a decade later, he gave her his kidney. Now he wants both back.
"There's no deeper pain that you can ever express than the betrayal from someone you loved and devoted your whole life to."
Batista says a few years into marriage, things began to sour.
He says he soon learned his wife would die without a kidney. He was a match -- a 1 in 7,000 shot. According to Batista, he donated his kidney to save her life and their troubled marriage.
The kidney worked. The marriage failed. Dawnell Batista filed for divorce.
Her husband alleges she had an affair with a physical therapist.
"I felt humiliated and betrayed, disrespected and disregarded for me as a person as a man as a husband as a father."
Now, the Batistas are making "The War of the Roses" look more like "The Honeymooners."
Batista has given his wife an ultimatum, give him the kidney back or pay him a million and a half dollars. It is the first of its kind in a divorce case in New York State.
Dominic Barbara, attorney for Dr. Batista:
"That is part of the litigation. We are asking for the value of the kidney that he gave his wife."
An attorney for Mrs. Batista, issued this statement, "The facts aren't as represented by Dr Batista. We will be addressing the issues before the judge within the next few days."
The divorce proceedings have continued for nearly four years.
For now, she has the kidney and the kids.
ABC's Linsey Davis has the story.
http://www.necn.com/Boston/Nation/2009/01/08/Man-wants-kidney-back-from/1231434751.html