Doctor demands wife give back donated kidney

A New York doctor is demanding that his estranged wife pay him $1.5 million to compensate him for the kidney he gave her.

The doctor, who is now involved in a messy divorce, has hired a high profile lawyer. "As part of the litigation, we are asking for the value of the kidney that he gave his wife," attorney Dominic Barbara said. "In theory we actually asked for the return of the kidney."

Richard Batista, a Cornell graduate, is a prominent Long Island vascular surgeon, father of three and married to a nurse. But when his wife, Dawnell, went into renal failure in 2001, Batista stepped up.



"She was my wife. My priority was to save her life, save her life and future of our children and hopefully with that in mind keep the marriage alive," Dr. Batista said. Batista said he was one of only 700,000 whose kidney was a match.

"When I donated … the next day on my feet going down hallway to visit her in adjoining room, there was no greater feeling on this planet as God is my witness, felt I could put my arm around Jesus Christ," Batista said. "[It was] unbelievable. I was walking on a cloud. I did the right thing for her to this day. I could still do it again."

Now that story of risk and sacrifice has taken on a sensational twist, with the doctor is demanding his kidney back or $1.5 million in compensation after he claims his wife had an affair and sent him packing from their million dollar Massapequa home.