Donated Breastmilk Comes to NY, Slowly
Hudson Valley Breastfeeding recently became only the second facility in all of New York state to receive a license to store and dispense donated breastmilk from a milk bank.
Milk banks collect expressed milk from rigorously screened and tested
volunteers, pasteurize it, and dispense to hopsitals or individuals with a prescription. It can fill a gap where breastfeeding isn’t possible, or
where it’s slow to get established.
Given that many of the circumstances that make breastfeeding difficult to near impossible
I have post coming up about Milkshare. Thanks Kris for mentioning it and sorry it took me so long to get to it!
Seconding what Kris said about milkshare.
Most moms I know who use donated breastmilk get it from there (and yes, lots of them are adoptive moms, supplementing while they get the induced lactation up to speed).
The banks sell it for $3 an OUNCE, and I recently learned that some milk banks run by Prolacta actually manufacture the donated milk into their “human milk supplement.”
We donated some milk through milkshare once, and with all the stories I’ve heard there is a bit too much trust and too little testing. Never heard of it going wrong, but even though most donors say they’re happy to get tested, I think mot recipients are shy to ask.
Another way to donate is through Milkshare, which is a mom-to-mom system. No pasteurization, but most moms insist on receiving tests from their donor.
I donated to another mom who couldn’t quite keep up with her son’s intake at daycare. 150 oz UPS overnight to Texas from Illinois.
My wife donates her breastmilk. If she didn’t donate we would just be dumping gallons of the stuff down the drain. Yes gallons. In November alone she donated 201 fl oz of milk. If that helps even one baby then it will be worth it.
She tried to donate 5 years ago with our first child, but the process was harder and much more expensive then. We had to pay for all the medical tests out of pocket and pay for the dry ice refrigerated shipping out of state. It was too much for our budget to support so she dumped a lot of extra milk. This time around the milk banks are paying for the tests and shipping. We just have to buy the storage bags so it is much more affordable.
I hope that some day donating milk will be as easy as donating blood.
Amy: Actually they screen for diseases, diet, smoking, etc. It’s pretty strict. They won’t even take people who’ve been on various herbal supplements. And then they pasteurize it and test it again.
I don’t want to be a bf Nazi, but if I had a preemie, I think the huge drop in risk of necrotizing enteritis alone would be enough to get me over the gross-out factor of donated milk.
As someone who breastfed for a year, I have to say that I am really grossed out by this idea. I understand that breastmilk is good for the baby, but you don’t know the mother or her history. Who knows what the mom is eating, or if she has any diseases that could be passed on. If I had not been able to breastfeed, I think a bottle would have been just fine – even for a premie.
leahsmom: Yes, it would, although the preemies and such would probably get top priority. But I have heard of adoptive parents getting some, especially for young babies or those that have other reasons they might benefit (reflux etc). Problem is, it’s super expensive for a long-term feeding plan, and not always available. Many adoptive parents who are concerned about this are turning to induced lactation instead and just breastfeeding. (I’ll be posting on this soon in fact.)
Would being an adoptive parent be something that would allow you to be a recipient of donated breastmilk? Or only medical issues like those mentioned above? Would it be just as helpful to adopted babies?