A US man divorcing his wife is demanding that she return the kidney he donated to her or pay him $1.5m (£1m) in compensation.
Dr Richard Batista told reporters that he decided to go public because he was frustrated at the slow pace of divorce negotiations with his estranged wife.
He said he had not only given his heart to his wife, Dawnell, but donated his kidney to save her life.
But divorce lawyers say a donated organ is not a marital asset to be divided.
Dr Batista married Dawnell in 1990 and donated the kidney to her in 2001. She filed for divorce in 2005 and a settlement has still not been reached.
‘Betrayal’
He told reporters at his lawyer’s office in Long Island, New York, that going public was a last resort.
“I felt humiliated, betrayed, disrespected and disregarded for me as a person, as a man, as a husband, as a father.”
Dr Batista’s lawyer, Dominic Barbara, said his client was “asking for the value of the kidney” that he gave his wife.
A lawyer for Mrs Batista said: “The facts aren’t as represented by Dr Batista. We will be addressing the issues before the judge within the next few days.”
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Uhm…wow…thank you, Denese, for that lively discussion on the intricacies of U.S. Tax Law as it pertains to post-nuptial castration and accurate valuation of “gifted” testicles for the purpose of amortized deductions.
I believe it was the late Johnny Cochran that said in his dissertation on Habeas Testicus, “If you can’t fantasize…you must amortize!”
As a general guideline, if you are unable to come…to a reasonable value with your ex, you must start with the blueball value and work up from there. 🙂
That is correct because they were a gift (I’m presuming one for each of them?). Once a gift is handed over by you and accepted by them, it’s a done deal. It is possible, however, that you could claim a gift tax deduction for the gifts — you can amend your tax returns up to three years back if the gifts were made during that period. The only issue of concern is, of course, how do you value the testicles and will the IRS accept that value as reasonably accurate? Hmmmmm.
If it makes you feel better, though, I’m certain they appreciated them. 🙂
Hmmm…I suppose it’s too late to get my testicles back from either ex-wife! 🙂