Just a quick question before you replace it, why do you think it's beyond repair?
Mine seemed to pack up mid Singapore flight, and didn't work for nearly 6 months..
The day I was going to replace it I came across and article about similar things happening and the advice was, as a last resort... to BANG it very hard on the desk 3 times - top right hand corner of the iPod. Well, after about 12 very hard whacks (and a horrid noise coming out of it) it suddenly sprung back into life, and is working as good as new.
Might be worth a try.
It's to be hoped your partner never suffers from impotency!