Human milk bank

[2] Human milk banks may offer a solution to the mothers that cannot supply their own breast milk to their child, for reasons such as a baby being at risk of getting diseases and infections from a mother with certain diseases,[4] or when a child is hospitalized at birth due to very low birth weight (and thus at risk for conditions such as necrotizing enterocolitis), and the mother cannot provide her own milk during the extended stay for reasons such as living far from the hospital.

[9] The World Health Organization (WHO) states that the first alternative to a biological mother not being able to breast feed is the use of human milk from other sources.

Human breast milk can also be fed to toddlers and children with medical conditions that include but are not limited to chemotherapy for cancer and growth failure while on formula.

[11] These regulations were motivated by the long-held belief that infants inherit the nurse's traits through their breast milk.

[11] By the 11th-century European culture considered breastfeeding indecent, which led wet nursing to become common practice among royalty and aristocracy of Europe.

Theodor Escherich of the University of Vienna conducted studies from 1902 to 1911 investigating different sources of nutrition and their effect on neonates.

The need for stringent screening increased the cost of operating milk banks, forcing them to close doors.

The Australian Red Cross Lifeblood offers a self-diagnostic quiz where donors can check if they are eligible to donate before they register.

[19] In 2022, lactation consultant and medical doctor Chinny Obinwanne launched Milk Bank Nigeria.

The Brazilian system is defined by its inexpensive pasteurization of milk and has spread to other countries such as Spain, Portugal, the Cape Verde Islands, and portions of the rest of Latin America.

[25] Singapore launched a three-year pilot donor breast milk bank on Thursday 17 August 2017.