Human Milk Bank
A Human Milk Bank is an organization that collects, processes, packages, and stores donated human breast milk for distribution, primarily to infants in need. This practice is rooted in the understanding that breastfeeding offers optimal nutrition and immune support, essential for healthy growth and development in early life. Human Milk Banks emerged as a response to safety concerns associated with informal milk sharing, particularly for sick or premature infants who may require donor milk when their mothers are unable to provide it.
Donor mothers, typically those with surplus milk, undergo thorough screening to ensure safety, including health questionnaires and blood tests for infectious diseases. The milk is carefully pasteurized to eliminate harmful pathogens before being frozen and stored for distribution. Human Milk Banks often operate as non-profit entities, with fees charged to cover processing costs, although many waive these fees for families in need.
While there are informal networks for milk sharing, using a regulated Human Milk Bank is advised due to stringent health and safety protocols that reduce the risks associated with milk transmission. This structured approach not only safeguards the health of recipients but also fosters trust in the process, ensuring that vulnerable infants receive the benefits of human milk.
Human Milk Bank
Human milk banks collect, process, package, and store donated human breast milk for distribution to infants. Many experts believe breastfeeding is best for infants, providing an ideally balanced food source with additional antibodies and other components that improve health. Concerns about safety in situations where mothers informally shared breast milk led to the development of human milk banks in the United States, Canada, and many other countries.
Components
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and other professional health associations have stated that breast milk contains all the nutritional elements a child needs for the first six months of life in the correct proportions needed for healthy growth and development. They recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, and for at least another six months while additional age-appropriate foods are added. These recommendations are based on findings that breast milk provides many benefits to a child during infancy and beyond.
In addition to its nutritional components, human breast milk:
- Contains antibodies passed from the mother that protect the child against contagious illnesses that are present in the child’s environment. This protects the child until his or her immune system is strong enough to provide protection.
- Contains sugars called oligosaccharides, which provide protection for the good bacteria in a child’s digestive tract, while the fatty acids DHA and AA increase brain development. Some studies have shown that breastfeeding may increase a child’s intelligence quotient (IQ) by up to five points.
- Contains Human Alpha-lactalbumin, a complex that can kill many types of cancer cells.
Research has also associated breastfeeding with a decreased risk for the child to develop asthma, ear infections, diarrhea, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). It may also reduce the risk of obesity throughout life.
History
At times, breast milk is not available for an infant. Some examples include situations in which the mother is ill or not available or when a mother gives birth to multiple babies and does not produce enough milk to meet all the infants’ needs. Historically, this need was met informally: women called wet nurses, who were or had recently been nursing their own offspring, would also feed orphaned infants or those whose mothers could not feed them. An increasing trend toward using artificial milk substitutes—baby formula—developed during the twentieth century, especially among women in the workforce, but medical professionals recognized the benefits of breast milk.
In 1911, the first American milk bank providing donor milk was formed in Boston. Unmarried mothers received payment in exchange for their milk, which was fed to sick infants. These women were screened for illnesses, and their milk was treated through pasteurization to protect the infants who received it.
Additional milk banks were created in response to need. By 1943, the AAP had established the first guidelines for running a milk bank. As medical technology improved during the 1970s and physicians were able to save babies born more prematurely, donor milk became essential to saving these infants.
Human milk banks dispense breast milk by prescription. In the early twenty-first century, most of it went to premature or sick infants or babies born as multiples. It has also been used for older children and some adults with certain forms of cancer.
Milk Processing
Donations to human milk banks undergo specific processes for procurement and processing to ensure safety and protect its vital components. Donors are usually nursing women who produce more milk than their own child can consume. It is extracted using a breast pump, which draws the milk from the breast through suction, allowing it to be collected in a container or bag. Prospective donors are screened for health concerns. They are not paid for their contributions, though the cost of some screenings is compensated. These screenings include questionnaires completed by both the mother and her physician, as well as blood tests to screen for infectious diseases.
The donor is instructed in proper hygiene and safe handling of the collection equipment and the milk. Most banks also provide containers for collecting and shipping the milk for processing. Once the milk is received at the bank, it is heat treated—pasteurized—to kill any harmful bacteria or viruses. The pasteurization process minimizes the risk of transmittable diseases. It is then frozen and stored until needed.
Most milk banks charge recipients by the ounce for breast milk. Many are non-profits that are part of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA), which formed in 1985. Fees help to cover the cost of processing and storing the milk. Some for-profit companies have also entered the milk bank market and offer enhanced breast milk to hospitals. Many milk banks will waive the procurement fee when necessary to ensure infants who need it receive breast milk.
Benefits of Milk Banks
In addition to the official network of more than a dozen banks that are part of HMBANA, a number of informal web-based milk procurement services exist. These informal networks are designed to connect people who need breast milk with those who have it to spare. HMBANA and other official organizations note that using these services involves some risk.
Advantages of using an official milk bank include:
- Rigorous screening helps limit the potential transmission of diseases such as HIV and hepatitis.
- Extensive screening also protects infants from inadvertently ingesting medications, illegal drugs, or other substances that may be harmful.
- Use of milk from a milk bank provides protection against strained relationships or even legal action should an infant become ill from a condition a donor was unaware of or did not disclose.
Bibliography
Arnold, Lois. D. W. MPH. "Becoming a Donor to a Human Milk Bank." Leaven, 2000 May-June;36(2):19-23. Web. 16 Feb. 2016. http://www.lalecheleague.org/llleaderweb/lv/lvaprmay00p19.html. Accessed 13 Dec. 2024.
Ballard, Olivia, JD, and Ardythe L. Morrow. "Human Milk Composition: Nutrients and Bioactive Factors." Pediatric Clinics of North America60.1 (2013): 49–74. Print.
"Breastfeeding." World Health Organization. World Health Organization, 2024, http://www.who.int/topics/breastfeeding/en/. Accessed 13 Dec. 2024.
"Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk." Pediatrics. American Academy of Pediatrics, Mar. 2012. Web. 16 Feb. 2016. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/129/3/e827. Accessed 13 Dec. 2024.
Human Milk Banking Association of North America. Human Milk Banking Association of North America, n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2016. https://www.hmbana.org/. Accessed 13 Dec. 2024.