Breast milk is the best food for babies. In absence of mother’s own milk, donor human milk can be considered to be the next best option to provide nutrition to a new born. The use of donor human milk dates back to the age-old practice of wet nursing which evolved over a period of time with establishment of human milk banks. World’s first human milk bank was established in 1919 at Vienna, Australia whereas India’s first milk was established at Sion hospital in 1989.
Milk banks are centres that collect, screen, process and provide human milk donated by nursing mothers who are not biologically related to the recipient infant.1 As of 2021, India has over 90 milk banks.2
Donor human milk is very similar to mother’s own milk in composition and hence provides neonates the strength and immunity to fight life threatening infections. It promotes better neurocognitive development of the child and protects the baby later in life from developing lifestyle disease like obesity, cardiovascular diseases. Donor human milk can be obtained from milk banks on doctor’s prescription
Milk banks receive breast milk from healthy breastfeeding mothers who provide their excess milk to help take care of babies in need. The milk bank screens all the mothers to make sure they are healthy. In addition to screening and proper medical history of mothers, mothers also undergo blood tests to screen for HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and Syphilis to be eligible for donation. Mothers are guided on how to take care of hygiene and equipment while pumping and are advised on proper storage of milk.
The donor milk once received at the facility is pasteurised to eliminate any virus or bacteria that may be present. Some nutrients may be compromised in the process, but it retains most of the nutrients which help provide optimal nutrition and promote healthy weight gain. For premature babies, during their first few months of life it can prove to be the ideal source of nutrition as it is also easier to digest by the babies.
Donating their excess milk is also beneficial for the donor mother as it helps them modulate their supply, avoid frequent lumps and engorgement as well as provides extended health benefits of breastfeeding like post pregnancy weight loss, reduced risk of ovarian and breast cancer etc.
I would like to make an appeal to all healthy breastfeeding mothers to come forward for this noble initiative and donate their excess breastmilk for saving lives of fragile and sick infants. There are organizations like Neolacta Lifesciences and SaveBabies that have a support network to help mothers donate milk from the comfort of their homes.
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The importance of breast milk for babies cannot be underlined enough. The entire concept of donor human milk is an initiative that is really commendable. Sandy N Vyjay
It is common knowledge that breast milk is extremely essential for the nutrition of a baby. However I did not know about donor breast milk. So noble! Thank you for introducing such a unique concept to us.
Such an informative post. I have heard about human donor milk & was amazed by it. It’s really a boon.
Breast milk is like Amrit for a child nothing else needed. Going through issues myself a milk bank is a great option for many mother’s facing issue. And mothers who can’t donate should surely do it.
Thanks
I was not aware of this. Thanks for the post as this will be helpful for a lot of people out there. The most essential nutrient for a baby is breast milk and this will make it sure they get it.
We all are aware of that how important is mother’s milk for newborns and when I am a mother of an extremely premature one and not able to feed my baby, I feel it’s so important to know that milk donors are there, which unfortunately I was not aware when needed. Thanks for sharing!!
This is such a Nobel initiative. donor human milk can be a great option for many infants whose mother either died or suffer from serious illness. this thing can help them to get all nutrients that mother’s milk offer. I hope many healthy breastfeeding mothers support this initiative.
This indeed is a commendable initiative. With this many infants will get the necessary nutrition which they are not able to due to any reason whatsoever. It also give an option to the moms who want their babies to get the goodness of mother’s milk.
Such an informative post & really going to help a lot of parents. Thanks for sharing,
Thanks
This is such a wonderful thing for babies who don’t have direct access to breast milk. The fact that they take utmost care of safety precautions is commendable.
It is most important for this message to reach people. A source for babies who have no access to have mother milk
This is such a great initiative that comes as a boon in some alternate situations. Was not aware of such kind initiative. Thank you for sharing such precious information.
This is a great initiative and will help a lot of new mothers who face issues with the quantity of breast milk. I hope there are more such initiatives PAN India.
This is a very informative post for all new moms who are using donor’s milk for longevity and better usage. It is time we start understanding there is a genuine need to talk about this in open.
Breast milk which can be donated. Wow who would have thought of something like this. It is a novel thought.
Thanks
I so wish this was available when I had my son. I had to wean him early due some medical issues. Many mom’s would be benefitted now.
This is a concept all new moms need to know about who faces problem in feeding their infants. Not many know about donor milk, its availability and process of availing this. Thanks for sharing it.
I recently read about this concept and can say that it is a stress buster for the parents who can’t breastfeed their child. One thing should be clearly followed and I.e. consultation of doctor.
This is something really new for me. Wish I had known about this or this would have existed 26 years ago in india then I could have contributed to it as my daughter had absolutely refused breast milk.
Such an informative post. I was not aware of this when I was breastfeeding. I have heard about human donor milk recently. It’s worth sharing with new moms. Many moms would be benefitted now.
This is such an important post. I didn’t know about these donor human milk banks. It was surprising to know the initiative started in 1919! That’s been a long, long, time. I hope more women come together to help infants and small children. Kudos to all the mothers in this world!
Thanks for sharing this article. I was unaware about these human milk donor banks. Such a great initiative. Mother milk is really important for new born babies. Hope some mothers come forward and be the part of this initiative.
This is such an informative post I was not aware of this it’s such easy and effective way to help
Lactating mothers
Thank you for sharing this
I’ve heard about donor milk and also looked to donate when I delivered. Thanks for sharing an informative post that sheds light on the topic.