Donating milk can be a rewarding experience that positively impacts the health and well-being of the families of our region.
Generous volunteer donors complete a simple but thorough screening process. All screening and shipping costs are paid for by the milk bank. Compensation of donors is strictly prohibited by the Human Milk Banking Association of North America due to ethical and safety issues. As a non-profit organization that exists for the benefit of the community, this also helps us to keep milk processing fees as low as possible.
Many of the babies that we serve have serious medical conditions and require extra precautions. For your healthy infant, the criteria below may not apply. Take this quick self-assessment quiz to see if you might be able to be a donor.
A note about prescription medications: Some prescription medications, including certain antidepressants, are compatible with donation.
If you agreed with all of the above statements, you may be eligible to donate, and we encourage you to begin the screening process, if interested. Please note that these statements do not imply approval. Certain chronic conditions, illnesses, medications, supplements, and other factors may prevent you from being a donor. If you would like to discuss your eligibility with us, or would like to begin the screening process, please contact us at donate@midatlanticmilkbank.org or 412-281-4400 or fill out the form below:
Every donor file is reviewed by an RN or MD. Our screening personnel all have backgrounds in birth and lactation. They strive to make the screening process as convenient as possible, and they are available to answer questions through the entire screening and donation process.
Once approved, donors can drop off their frozen milk to our lab in Pittsburgh, to a local depot, or we can make arrangements for it to be picked up by FedEx or UPS at the donor’s home.
Please note that bacterial culture testing is done after milk pasteurization. On rare occasions an approved donor may become ineligible due to repeated positive cultures. These positive results simply reflect normal skin bacteria and have nothing to do with the health of the donor or her baby.
It is helpful to be aware of our pumping and storage instructions as soon as you consider the possibility of donating.
Thanks to our Donor Milk in Your Neighborhood program, approved donors can arrange to drop off milk at the following locations:
Mid-Atlantic Mother’s Milk Bank
3127 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15201
Excela Square at Norwin
An Excela Health affiliated community medical center.
8775 Norwin Avenue
Irwin, PA 15642
Lehigh Valley Breastfeeding Center
An Eastern Pennsylvania practice dedicated to assisting mothers and mothers-to-be on the their prenatal, parenting, and breastfeeding journey.
1517 Pond Road
Allentown, PA 18104
LifeCycle Womancare
A non-profit birth and women’s healthcare center that provides exceptional healthcare services for women of all ages.
918 County Line Road
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
Don’t live near a dropoff site? No problem! Shipping is always an option and it is easy. We send you a box with packing instructions and FedEx or UPS picks the box up from your home.
Learn more about Donor Milk in Your Neighborhood, the program for dispensaries and depots throughout our footprint.
Your donated milk will make a big difference in the health of a baby. It will be used in one or more of the following ways:
Donor milk requires testing and pasteurization for the safety of its recipients who typically have complex medical needs. (Learn more about safety here.) The milk bank, similar to a blood bank, relies on fees from hospitals or recipients to cover the significant costs associated with donor screening, testing, and processing.
This fee, in the NICU, is paid by the hospital, as each hospital orders a supply and distributes it according to their own evidence-based criteria. For outpatients with documented medical needs, the cost of donor milk is typically covered by insurance. For the occasional cases of medically necessary donor milk that are not covered, Mid-Atlantic Mothers’ Milk Bank has an income-based sliding scale program to offset costs for families.