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Human Milk Banks

What Is a Human Milk Bank?

A Human Milk Bank is a health institution focusing on helping infants to thrive by accepting Human Milk donations, Pasteurizing and safely storing the milk, and then providing that same breast milk to other families who could benefit by giving the milk to their own infants, some of whom are premature, or cannot breastfeed for a valid medical reason.

Sometimes Milk Banks are co-located on the campus of a hospital; in other instances the Milk Bank may have its own location.

When Is A Human Milk Bank Utilized?

Some women cannot successfully breastfeed their infants.

Sometimes a new mother's milk doesn't "come in" so quickly and "Bridge Milk" is needed.

Other times, it's entirely a functional issue.

Whether the reason is a latch that could use attention or clogged milk ducts, the result is the same: The baby needs supplemental milk, and formula is the only option.

Sometimes there's a medical reason that a woman cannot produce sufficient milk, like PCOS or a past breast reduction surgery.

Human Breast Milk is superior to formula of any brand or type. And so, Human Milk Banks provide an option to families.

Human Milk Banks are also a crucial component in helping infants born prematurely to grow and thrive.

A Human Milk Bank Versus A Traditional Financial Bank

A bank, of the usual sort that most of us are familiar with, is a financial institution geared to profit, making its gains from lending at interest.

A Milk Bank, on the other hand, is a health service provided to the community, often by nonprofit organizations associated with local hospitals.

For-profit Milk Bank companies do exist, but they only make up a minuscule percentage of Human Milk Banks.

A traditional bank facilitates the management of funds by offering services, such as safely storing money, as when you make a deposit; lending money, like when you get a car loan or a mortgage; and facilitating financial transactions between individuals, businesses, and other entities.

Banks deal with money; they act as intermediaries, taking funds, in the form of bank deposits from individuals, businesses, and even governments, and then lending those same funds to others while charging interest on the loan.

Human Milk Banks deal in Donor Human Milk (DHM).

The majority of Milk Banks do not profit from the milk received as a donation; most Milk Banks exist solely to serve the community and help postnatal women and their infants.

Like a traditional bank, a Milk Bank does accept "deposits," in the form of fresh breast milk from lactating women who have more milk than they need to feed their babies.

And, that same milk will later be provided to other women who may require additional nutrition to meet the nutritional needs of their own babies, akin to making "withdrawals" or "loans" from a bank.

The difference?

A new Mom who has donated her milk is not withdrawing her own milk at a later date, the person depositing is not the person withdrawing, and it's not a loan to the family receiving the milk.

There may be a fee associated with receiving milk from a Human Milk Bank.

Insurance may, or may not, cover the costs associated with obtaining milk from a Human Milk Bank.

So, these are the similarities and differences between a Milk Bank and a bank that deals with money.

It's called a milk bank for a reason, after all.

Is Milk Bank Milk Safe?

Human Milk Banks are generally considered safe sources of breast milk, as milk donors are carefully screened and the milk is first Pasteurized before distributing to recipient families.

Potential donors' are blood tested, and their milk is screened for pathogens, medications, and adulterants every time it's donated.

Of course, we suggest checking a prospective Milk Bank's credentials and history, and learn all you can about the institution you've chosen to work with.

It's always a good practice to do, and what you learn can even help you choose which milk bank you'd prefer to go with, if you have a choice.

"Milk Banking? I've Never Heard of That!"

If you've never heard of a Milk Bank before now, you're not alone. Not even close! In fact, you're in the majority on this one.

Studies show that from ~60% to ~90%, of women in Western societies are unaware that this resource exists. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4523990/

Sadly, the lack of awareness about the existence of Milk Banks means that many infants and families that could have benefited from this essential resource, invariably fail to do so.

It also means that lactating women, who might have donated their milk, also did not end up helping another family, simply because they did not know that there had been an opportunity to help out.

Is There A Certification for Human Milk Banks In The U.S?

The Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) https://www.hmbana.org/ is considered the only recognized organization that accredits milk banks throughout North America.

It's 'vision,' according to their website is this:

"HMBANA believes in a world where all infants have access to human milk through the support of breastfeeding and the use of pasteurized donor human milk."

While membership in this organization means a provider is serious about what they do, there are many more Human Breast MIlk Banks out there that are not members with good reputations.

Are There Any Human Milk Banks In New Jersey?

There are, in fact, a few Human Milk Banks in New Jersey that are for hospital patients, only.

Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center operates a Human Milk Bank, what they describe as a "human milk depot," in a partnership formed with Mothers’ Milk Bank Northeast, a reputable non-profit.

This Milk Depot serves babies in the newborn nursery and the neonatal intensive care unit. Outpatient Moms may sometimes be eligible for a two-week prescription, not covered by insurance unless medically necessary.

https://www.rwjbh.org/cooperman-barnabas-medical-center/treatment-care/neonatal-intensive-care-unit/our-services/banked-human-milk-program/

Another hospital that isn't too far for some New Jerseyans operated out of the Philadelphia Children's Hospital.

https://www.chop.edu/services/chop-mothers-milk-bank

Are There Any Human Milk Banks That Will Deliver Milk Via The Mail Or Fedex?

Mother's Milk Bank Northeast

Mother's Milk Bank Northeast is a non-profit, community-supported organization that will mail milk to families in need of milk for their infant.

https://milkbankne.org/donor-milk-dispensaries/

https://milkbankne.org/order-milk/

Mid-Atlantic Mothers’ Milk Bank

'Donor milk is distributed by prescription or hospital order only. The only exception is limited bridge milk of 40 ounces or less (total, not per order) in the newborn period. Frozen pasteurized donor milk is available in 200ml, 100ml, and 50ml bottles."

"Both hospitalized babies and those being cared for at home can use donor milk. In the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), the use of donor milk is associated with lower rates of serious complications, shorter hospital stays, and higher rates of exclusive maternal breastfeeding at discharge. For outpatients, donor milk can help babies with certain conditions, sensitivities, and allergies thrive and grow. Bridge milk, which refers to short term supplementation either in well babies in the maternity unit or at home can be a bridge to breastfeeding success. "

https://midatlanticmilkbank.org/recipients/order/

The Milk Bank

"Founded in 2005, The Milk Bank was established as a non-profit, community-supported entity to improve health outcomes for premature and ill babies, foster better health for children, and decrease health care expenditures. The Milk Bank receives human milk from carefully screened donors to pasteurize, freeze and distribute throughout the United States."

"Pasteurized Donor Human Milk (PDHM) provides infants with a safe alternative to formula when experiencing a medical need or for short-term supplementation when mother’s own milk is unavailable. The Milk Bank’s first priority is to serve hospitalized infants, but thanks to our generous milk donors, we often serve infants who can be treated at home or bridge gaps in breastfeeding. *In the event milk inventory becomes limited, The Milk Bank follows national triage standards based on medical need.* "

https://www.themilkbank.org/recipient-app/

Do I Need A Prescription To Obtain Milk From a Human Milk Bank?

A prescription is sometimes necessary to obtain Pasteurized Donor Human Milk (PDHM) from a milk bank.

This may be written by any health care professional whose Scope of Practice includes writing prescriptions.

Some insurers may also require a Letter of Medical Necessity be written by the doctor, or other qualified health care provider's office taking care of the Mother or infant.

https://milkbank.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Provider-Instructions-and-Cheat-Sheet-20210308.docx-1.pdf

Donor Milk A Covered Benefit Through Medicaid For Inpatients In New York

If a parent can prove that the mother has insufficient milk; or the baby fails to thrive on formula; or the baby is adopted, foster, or surrogate; or there's an illness or health risk from the mother that requires interruption of breastfeeding; then a woman must get a prescription, and then she can obtain donor milk, in the state of New York.

Can I Just Buy Milk Off of CraigsList? It's Very Inexpensive! And, I'm Not Covered!

We suggest a different plan of action.

While studies show that the rate of adulteration with cow's milk as 10%, times are tougher now, and the NYC/NJ Metro Area may be worse than average, as there are many scammers operating here due to the fact that there are so many people to both scam and the city life provides them with anonymity.

Further, the milk you buy from unknown sources may be contaminated with any adulterants one can imagine besides cow's milk, substances far more hazardous.

The milk you buy online via a social platform or personal ad could even be watered down, which is a hazard to an infant's life.

Watering down Infant Formula in countries with struggling populations is a common practice, and parents do this to "stretch" the formula, however doing so has proven to lead to infants' failure to thrive, and worse.

And, what if the person selling their milk on the Internet is doing so to support a drug habit, is HIV-Positive, and has opiates in her bloodstream?

You just can't know these things.

Really, it's also true that meeting random strangers off the Internet is unsafe and you could, very well, end up as the victim of a crime.

Can I Just Deal With Another Mom and Buy Her Milk Directly?

Some families choose to accept Human Milk directly, sometimes from someone they know, more often from a stranger.

This practice can, in fact, spread disease!

Almost 80% of women surveyed by the American Academy of Pediatrics felt they did not need to screen the milk because they "trusted" the woman providing the breast milk.

This informal sharing of milk may be done for free, or the donor may charge a fee.

An American Academy of Pediatrics survey found that about half of women were not at all concerned about the safety of sharing breast milk.

Informally sharing breast milk is not like sharing a drinking glass.

Breast Milk could potentially carry pathogens, and thus it's able to spread disease to infants.

Then there's the issue of drug-contaminants in the milk. Without screening, how could anyone ever even know?

What about alcohol and other contaminants? That's also an issue with unscreened milk.

Interestingly, about the same number of women (roughly, half) indicated they chose not to use milk banks because of cost, as well as concerns about the ability to obtain a prescription for breast milk.

Most insurance plans do not actually cover donor breast milk for healthy babies; some human milk banks require a prescription for the infant if the infant has a health condition.

What If The Milk Donor Is a Relative, Neighbor, Or Close Friend?

In the case that you know the woman well, you probably aren't risking as much as obtaining milk from a total stranger, in that you may be better aware of a person's lifestyle and character.

So, you know you aren't going to get robbed and inadvertently give your baby cow's milk or infant formula, both of which contain allergens that a percentage of babies predictably react to.

And, you know your sister-in-law is not giving you her milk to pay for a crack habit. She's clean. And your brother tells you his wife is healthy, and their infant looks fine.

Even so, the donor may not be disclosing every health condition they suffer from, or medication they're taking.

Or, they may not remember every drug or ailment, or a disease-causing pathogen a lactating woman isn't aware she's harboring, might get transmitted to the recipient's infant.

(Such diseases would be caught by a Milk Bank's stringent testing system, had such an exchange of infected milk occurred through a reputable Milk Bank.)

In the end, direct transfer without an intermediary Milk Bank is not ideal, either, unfortunately.

The reality is, many women do this and share milk these days.

It's a free country, so if this is your choice, you do you.

We've already explained that there are reasons that sharing milk directly is not the best choice, but perhaps for some women it is the only choice.

If it's a choice of milk from someone you know and trust, or formula, cow's milk, or perhaps even starvation, and you don't have access to free municipal public health care that covers Milk Bank milk where you live, then sharing milk among friends may be the only reasonable choice for some women.

Is Breast Milk Sold By Strangers Ever Purposefully Adulterated?

There is no record of anyone ever purposefully poisoning an infant with human milk sold online, thankfully.

However, that is not the end of the story.

What you may find via social networks, in terms of human milk, may not be what you think.

There's a chance you may not what you think you're getting.

And, while what's added is not poison, the adulterants can still harm some babies.

Human Milk Sold Online Sometimes Topped Off With Cow's Milk

A study published in the journal Pediatrics found that 10% of breast milk purchased via the Internet contained significant amounts of cow's milk.

Human milk is frequently “topped off” with cow’s milk or infant formula.

Why is this done?

One word: Greed. People want to profit; they're motivated by cash and not the joy of helping another Mom's infant to thrive and grow.

But what if the infant has an allergy to cow's milk? Or, what if they are allergic to an ingredient in the chosen brand of baby formula?

That's a big issue, as about 16% of families seeking human milk from milk banks do so because their infant is intolerant to baby formula.

A scarier fact is that over 75% of milk samples bought online were contaminated with bacteria or viral contaminants.

Over 20% of families seeking breast milk online were trying to get milk for a child with a preexisting medical condition.

Hierarchy of Suitable Nutrition For the Infant

As a Certified Lactation Professional, there is an established hierarchy of suitable nutrition for an infant.

The ideal is to exclusively breastfeed when this is possible.

That means not having the need to supplement with infant formula.

Next might be delivering the mother's breast milk via indirect feeding, as would be the case with pumping and then feeding the pumped milk to the baby with a bottle.

Next comes milk from an established Milk Bank.

This choice that is probably best, if a new mother hasn't yet made sufficient milk, or has some issue and won't be producing sufficient milk,

Next on the list is cow's milk-based infant formula.

And, lastly, we have synthetic infant formula.

This hierarchy of which is best, and worst, is drawn from science, and is not mere opinion.

Cow's milk that you buy at the store is not appropriate for an infant.

How Do I Donate My Breast Milk?

The process of donating your breast milk is quite simple.

First, choose a Milk Bank to donate to; it could be a department within a local hospital, or even a dedicated Milk bank located in another state.

Once you've decided which Milk bank to donate to, their web site will usually explain what's next. Usually, there's a screening call, a medical form that needs to be filled out, and a blood test.

Then, you're good and can begin donating, either via a local milk depot or by having the Human Milk shipped from a Milk Bank.

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