We often hear about divorces involving children being taken away and money issues, but organs are never among the assets to be divided. Until now, that is. When Dr. Richard Batista decided to take control of his slow divorce process, he demanded the return of his kidney or $1.5 million.

Dr. Batista and his wife Dawnell married in 1990. Before Dawnell battled kidney failure, they were having marital problems.

Dawnell had two failed transplants, which led to Dr. Batista donating his kidney in 2001. Dr. Batista hoped that donating his kidney would help patch up their marriage.

According to The New York Daily News, Batista said, “After an injury suffered while trying to earn her black belt, she began physical therapy – which evolved into an affair with her therapist.”

Once people are close to dying, they tend to evaluate their lives. They may change themselves and what they want in their life. Perhaps Dawnell discovered that she was not satisfied with her marriage, which led to her affair.

Dawnell filed for divorce in 2005, and the rockiness of the divorce process began.

“It’s illegal for an organ to be exchanged for anything of value,” said Robert Veatch, a medical ethicist at Georgetown University’s Kennedy Institute of Ethics to Newsday.

In the United States, organs can not be sold, and donating an organ is a gift.

“It’s her kidney now and . . . taking the kidney out would mean she would have to go on dialysis or it would kill her,” said Veatch.

Since Dr. Batista is a surgeon, he would know the laws around donating organs, and I think he chose to ignore the laws, and look for the media’s sympathy.

Dr. Batista is using the donation as a hateful tool against her. Death is a sensitive subject that is not meant to be used for revenge.

According to BBC, Dr. Batista mentioned that he was betrayed and going to the public was the last resort.

Asking for a return of a kidney is immoral. This man has turned cold and lost all sense of right and wrong.

“There is no deeper pain that you can ever express than betrayal from somebody who you love and devoted your life to,” said Batista. He is allowing his emotions to control his actions, which is making him irrational.

“I felt humiliated, betrayed, disrespected and disregarded for me as a person, as a man, as a husband, as a father,” said Batista.

According to Newsday, if Dr. Batista can’t get the kidney, he wants, “$1.5 million – which, he said reflects in part the value of the kidney transplant.”

Divorces are not meant to put people in danger, but should allow separation to happen in an orderly fashion, and Dr. Batista is making his divorce ridiculous.

Even though Dawnell ripped out Dr. Batista’s heart, he has no right to request organs.

No matter how hurt the doctor is, he should not go to the utmost extreme. Receiving flesh will not help with his pain, but cause more legal issues in the future.

Dr. Batista is making his divorce into a circus. Once the divorce process speeds up, I think Dr. Batista might get a little sympathy, but he will be mainly looked down on because of his unreasonable demands.