Man demands ex-wife gives back the kidney he gave her or £1.2million

While divorces are sometimes necessary, there is no questioning that they can get pretty messy.

One woman may have threw a divorce party to celebrate the end of her marriage last year, but the end of a relationship is not a cause for celebration for many.

When you think of disagreements taking place when divorce proceedings are accelerated, you think of things like the home or custody of children.

Typically, they are going to be central to the legal proceedings that follow - but that's not everyone's divorce route.

One man's divorce legal proceedings took a more extreme path as prior to the divorce, presumably when their relationship was a little rosier, he provided his wife with a kidney.

It's certainly a touching gesture, one you might think would only grow love and commitment to an individual.

But after his wife filed for a divorce, Dr Richard Batista told his now former partner, Dawnell, that she would have to return the kidney or pay him £1.2 million.

Well, that's one way to spoil a gift!

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Dr Batista claimed that their marriage had already been on the rocks due to his wife's medical issues - but that didn't stop him donating.

Dawnell unfortunately suffered failed kidney transplants, so the doctor decided that he would donate one of his kidneys to save her life.

And while many couples may go through counselling, Dr Batista saw donating a kidney as a way to save his marriage.

"My first priority was to save her life. The second bonus was to turn the marriage around," he told reporters at the time.

The procedure did end up saving Dawnell's life, but the marriage, not so much, as she filed for divorce in 2005.

Dr Batista subsequently accused her of having an affair, leading to him making the extraordinary request of a £1.2 million settlement or for his donated kidney to be returned.

Perhaps as expected, the offer was a complete non-starter on medical grounds.

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Medical ethicist Robert Veatch said at the time: "It's her kidney now and ... taking the kidney out would mean she would have to go on dialysis or it would kill her."

Dr Batista did not succeed in getting either his kidney back, or the compensation he asked for during the divorce proceedings.

The Nassau County Supreme Court rejected his request and ruled that the kidney was a gift.

"The defendant’s effort to pursue and extract monetary compensation therefore not only runs afoul of the statutory prescription, but conceivably may expose the defendant to criminal prosecution,” matrimonial referee Jeffrey Grob said.