Human milk banking in North America

The quick freezing of fractions of an ounce of breastmilk had been perfected earlier that decade by researchers at Borden Labs.

[4] Milk donors are new mothers who are in good health, whose infants are growing, thriving, and under six months of age when they begin (Arnold, 1997).

[5] Because there is some risk of passing infections and viruses to babies through breast milk, donors must undergo a medical screening and a blood test to rule out infectious diseases such as HIV-1 and-2, hepatitis B and C and syphilis (Arnold, 1997).

After administering a verbal or written questionnaire, healthcare providers for the mother and her baby must sign statements confirming that both are in good health.

In addition to careful screening of donors, each batch of milk is tested for bacterial counts before pasteurization.

Often, it is used within the hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for premature or critically ill babies.

However, hospitals and recipients are required to cover some of the cost for collection, processing and distribution of milk which may be from $3.00 to $5.00 an ounce.

For non-hospitalized recipients, the milk bank will often work with the family to obtain coverage for processing fees (Arnold, 1997).

However, insurance companies rarely cover donor milk, except under unusual circumstances (Griffith, 2002).

In some states, and under some circumstances, Medicaid and WIC will cover the costs of using banked milk (Arnold, 1999, Wight, 2001).

Communities with milk banks use different methods to educate and solicit donors including brochures in doctors' offices and hospital information packets.

Preliminary research indicates that breast milk can have nutritive, immunologic and palliative effects for cancer patients (Radetsky, 1999).

Adults with GI disorders and organ donation recipients can also benefit from the immunologic powers of breast milk.

Many families engaging in private milk donation, include blood testing and complete donor screening while involving a supportive care provider.