Guidelines for establishing a donor human milk depot

J Hum Lact. 2010 Feb;26(1):49-52. doi: 10.1177/0890334409347467. Epub 2009 Sep 16.

Abstract

Human milk is the preferred choice for infant feeding. When a sick or premature infant's own mother's milk is unavailable, donor human milk is becoming more widely used. Many potential milk donors do not live within close proximity to the 10 North American not-for-profit milk banks. Transporting milk via commercial carriers can be inconvenient and costly for recipient banks. A network of donor human milk depots is one practical way to increase the quantity of available donor human milk. This article provides guidelines and practical suggestions for establishing a donor human milk depot.

MeSH terms

  • Guidelines as Topic*
  • Humans
  • Infant Food
  • Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / physiology*
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Infant, Premature / growth & development
  • Infant, Small for Gestational Age / growth & development
  • Milk Banks* / organization & administration
  • Milk Banks* / standards
  • Milk Banks* / statistics & numerical data
  • Milk, Human*