WILLIAM SHATNER - SHATNER OPTS NOT TO SELL HIP BONE

WILLIAM SHATNER has chosen not to sell the hip bone he recently had replaced - because it would be in bad taste. The former Star Trek star sold a kidney stone for $75,000 (GBP37,500) last year (07), and donated the proceeds - together with $20,000 (GBP10,000) from his Boston Legal co-stars, to Habitat For Humanity for the organisation's house building programme in devastated New Orleans, Louisiana. And he considered approaching online site GoldenPalace.com - the company that bought his kidney stone - to see if they were interested in his hip bone after a photo he was sent of the happy family, who had moved into the house his cash had built, brought tears to his eyes. He says, "GoldenPalace.com gave me $75,000 for my ugly little kidney stone (and) I had this hip replacement less than four weeks ago and I thought, `How bad taste would it be to sell my hip bone?' "I then decided it was bad taste, and, for me to decide something is bad taste... it was really bad."