The Cukold and the Kidney-Hold: How a Donated Organ Should be Distributed in Divorce

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The New York Daily News features plenty of stories that don’t make it into the New York Times.  Here‘s one that caught my eye.  

A doctor on Long Island donated a kidney to his wife.  She then began an affair with her physical therapist. The doctor is now suing the wife for $1.5 million for the kidney.  

In the article, the doctor says of his wife’s infidelity, “It put a hole in my heart that still exists. To this day, I’m a man of pride. To be betrayed that way, humiliated – I can’t even began to say.” At another point in the article, the doctor says that he does not regret donating the kidney:  “There was no greater feeling on this planet,” he said. “As God is my witness, I felt as if I could put my arm around  Jesus Christ. I was walking on a cloud.”

So is the doctor really suing for the cost of the kidney, or his wounded (masculine) pride?  Perhaps this is a modern twist on the now-defunct claims of alienation of affection, “criminal conversation” and seduction.  

A new drafting point for matrimonial lawyers.

-Bridget Crawford

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