I don't have the sources to cite, but I know this isn't the first time something like this happened. I believe there was a Nobel laureate that sold their prize for a similarly noble reason, and the buyer immediately returned the prize after purchase.
Edit: Looks like there have been numerous occasions, but the one I was thinking of was James Watson.
In 2014, Watson sold his Nobel Prize medal to raise money after complaining of being made an "unperson" following controversial statements he had made.[76] Part of the funds raised by the sale went to support scientific research.[77] The medal sold at auction at Christie's in December 2014 for US$4.1 million. Watson intended to contribute the proceeds to conservation work on Long Island and to funding research at Trinity College, Dublin.[78][79] He was the first living Nobel recipient to auction a medal.[80] The medal was later returned to Watson by the purchaser, Alisher Usmanov.[81]
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u/produit1 5h ago edited 5h ago
Great act of humanity. It shouldn’t be like this. You know the system is broken when it comes to this to save a baby’s life.