Divorce has become a common phenomenon in recent times, although both the husband and the wife have to face some issues after their separation. While many are seen throwing divorce parties, a few try their best to resolve marital problems and to stay together. A husband or a wife usually returns some of their belongings to the other after divorce procedure. However, what recently happened in the US is surprising, as well as emotional. A husband reportedly asked his former wife to return his kidney during a divorce battle!

Dr Richard Batista, a citizen of the US, donated one of his kidneys to his wife Dawnell way back in 2001. As Dawnell filed for a divorce in 2005, Dr Batista asked his wife to return his kidney as part of his settlement demand. Attorney Dominic Barbara, the lawyer of Dr Batista, confirmed the news in January 2024, saying that his client wanted either his kidney or a payment of an estimated USD 1.5 million (the value of that kidney) from his ex-wife.

The 49-year-old doctor from Ronkonkoma, who graduated from Cornell University Medical School in 1995, tied nuptial knot with Dawnell on August 31, 1990. Later, they were blessed with three children, ages 14, 11 and eight as of now. After Dawnell had two failed transplants, Dr Batista donated a kidney to his wife. The transplantation took place at the University of Minnesota Medical Center on June 18, 2001. Dr Batista recently claimed that his marriage was on the rocks due to the strain of his wife’s medical issues. Speaking at a press conference in January 2024, the medical practitioner stressed: “My first priority was to save her life. The second bonus was to turn the marriage around.”

Meanwhile, neither Dawnell (44) nor her Attorney Douglas Rothkopf made any comments on this issue. Medical Ethicists are of the opinion that the case is a nonstarter. Arthur Caplan of the University of Pennsylvania’s Centre for Bioethics stated that the husband’s demand was “somewhere between impossible and completely impossible”. He has opined that no one can assign a subsequent monetary value to an organ. Caplan insisted: “There is nothing later (you can get) in terms of compensation if you regret your gift.”

For his part, Medical Ethicist at Georgetown University’s Kennedy Institute of Ethics Robert Veatch said: “It is illegal for an organ to be exchanged for anything of value.” He argued that organs might not be bought or sold in the US, and donating an organ should be considered as a gift. “Legally, when you give something, you cannot get it back,” he added. Veatch further said: “It is her kidney now and… taking the kidney out would mean she would have to go on dialysis or it would kill her.”

Soon after Dawnell filed the divorce case against her husband in 2005, Dr Batista claimed that his wife did so as she had an extra-marital relationship with another person.

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Published by Koushik Das

Koushik Das (born on May 16, 1976 in Kolkata) is a career journalist. Based in the Indian capital of New Delhi, Koushik writes mainly about foreign policies and current geopolitical issues, and rarely about other topics. His own political ideas are highly influenced by Antonio Gramsci, Louis Althusser, Michel Foucault, Michael Oakeshott and others. English philosopher and political theorist Oakeshott (Dec 11, 1901-Dec 19, 1990) says that “in political activity, men sail a boundless and bottomless sea. There is neither harbour for shelter nor floor for anchorage, neither starting-place, nor appointed destination. But we have to keep afloat”. (Rationalism in Politics, 1962) As a student of Political Science, Koushik loves to share his views on issues, which have great impacts on his thought process (and also on India, South Asia and of course on the global community), with his readers through his website – Boundless Ocean of Politics. By doing so, he tries to keep himself afloat. You will find some of his articles in https://inserbia.info/today/ (https://inserbia.info/today/author/kou_das13_i/), as he has been trying to assess the global geopolitics since 2003. You can also mail him at kousdas@gmail.com View all posts by Koushik Das