Charitable Deductions for Donations of Kidney Stones ... Pass It On

Proving, yet again, that tax issues lurk in the strangest places, see this Associated Press story:  Shatner Sells Kidney Stone for Charity:

An online casino has a piece of Capt. Kirk. Actor William Shatner has sold his kidney stone for $25,000, with the money going to a housing charity, it was announced Tuesday. Shatner reached agreement Monday to sell the stone to GoldenPalace.com....

The money will go to Habitat for Humanity, which builds houses for the needy. "This would be the first Habitat for Humanity house built out of stone," joked Darren Julien, president of Los Angeles-based Julien's Auctions, which handled the sale. Shatner, who played Kirk on the original "Star Trek" TV show and won an Emmy for his role on "Boston Legal," passed the stone last fall. The stone was so big, Shatner said, "you'd want to wear it on your finger."

Tax issues abound.  Does Shatner have income on the sale of the kidney stone?  If so, how much -- what is his basis in the kidney stone?  Should he instead have donated the kidney stone directly to Habit for Humanity?  If so, how would he have established the value of the charitable donation?  Would Habitat for Humanity have had Unrelated Business Income on the sale of the kidney stone to the Golden Palace?  Comments are open!  (Hat Tip:  Bryan Camp (Texas Tech).)