Human Milk Banking

In January, our US Surgeon General issued a call to action to support breastfeeding. During the question and answer period of the call to action Dr. Benjamin stated that she chose breastfeeding as her first call to action because it is the foundation of health.

Along the same lines, today I saw a breastfeeding poster from 1936-1938 (at http://www.facebook.com/#!/HistoricBreastfeedingPhotos?sk=info ) that reads "Nurse the Baby, Your Protection Against Trouble".

In October last year I learned about HMBANA (Human Milk Bank Association of North America) and decided I would like to donate milk. The milk bank supplies human milk to premature babies and babies who need human milk for medical reasons and requires a prescription from a doctor.  You should know that if you have a premature baby and you are able to give him/her your own milk it will have electrolytes in it especially for him/her because your body KNOWS your baby is premature. Here is a list reasons for human milk and benefits from human milk from www.sharp.com .

Breast milk benefits premature babies like no other food because:

• Human milk causes the intestines to mature faster
• Human milk empties from the stomach faster 
• Human milk-fed infants have less blood infection and preemie eye disease
• Infants fed human milk tend to spend fewer days in the hospital

Besides premature babies, other recipients have included babies, children and adults with the following health needs:

• Allergies or sensitivities to formulas
• Cancer chemotherapy patients
• Failure to thrive (FTT)
• Gastrointestinal problems
• Immune deficiencies 
• Malabsorption syndromes
• Postsurgical nutrition
• Short gut syndrome
• Solid organ transplants (including adults)

I contacted HMBANA and passed an initial screening interview. The requirements for donating to HMBANA include

• In good general health
• Willing to undergo a blood test (at the milk bank's expense)
• Not regularly using medication or herbal supplements (with the exception of progestin-only birth control pills or injections, Synthroid, insulin, pre-natal vitamins; for other exceptions, please contact a milk bank for more information)
• Willing to donate at least 100 ounces of milk; some banks have a higher minimum (Because I was mailing my milk the requirement was 200 ounces).

A woman would not be a suitable donor if:

• She has a positive blood test result for HIV, HTLV, hepatitis B or C, or syphilis
• She or her sexual partner is at risk for HIV
• She uses illegal drugs
• She smokes or uses tobacco products
• She has received an organ or tissue transplant or a blood transfusion in the last 12 months
• She regularly has more than two ounces or more of alcohol per day
• She has been in the United Kingdom for more than 3 months or in Europe for more than 5 years since 1980
• She was born in or has traveled to Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Niger, or Nigeria

I almost didn't pass the European criteria because I lived in Germany as a child. My interviewer had to check with her supervisor, but since I was not on a military base it turns out I probably wasn't exposed to mad cow disease (yay!) and they cleared me to donate. They also asked me about recent tattoos or if my husband had recent tattoos, and my baby had to be under 1 year old (because your milk content changes as your baby ages and toddler milk is designed for toddlers).

The next step was to fill out some forms and begin collecting milk. I was sent some lab paper work and given a donor number. The instructions included sterelizing food grade containers and then freezing the milk in them. I chose to use mason jars and after boiling them in my spaghetti pot for 5 minutes I screwed the lids on and began the process of filling them daily. I chose Finn's morning nap as my pump time. Right after putting him down I would sit at the computer checking my email, all the while filling mason jars with breast milk. I always seemed to have plenty and my body quickly adjusted to making the extra milk, usually 6 ounces each morning.

I admit I took a few days off when Finn came down with a runny nose and I stopped for almost a week at Thanksgiving, but after two months I had my 200 ounces.  Once I established a routine it wasn't too hard. It gave me a great deal of admiration, however, for mom's who work away from their babies full time, and continue to pump all day. I can't wait to encourage and help more of them!


A documentary called "Prescription Milk" is coming out soon. The trailer says that there are 500,000 premature births each year, and that 40% of these babies die and that human donor milk can save many of those lives. (To see the trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJFrnUZGndM ).

There are other milk banks like The National Milk Bank whose home base is in California, and there are also sites called "Milk Depots" which can either mean non prescription milk is sold there to parents who want to give human milk to their infants, or locations where milk can be dropped off by donors or picked up by recipients.


I know this was a long one, and I hope some of you decide to look into it yourselves once you have the breastfeeding down. Chances are good that your body can handle it and your milk may save a life. Please tell us about your experience if you decide to donate some of your milk or if you already have.