08 Sep So you have a freezer full of expressed breast milk…
(September 8, 2014) Rarely a week goes by when we do not receive an email or two asking if we can accept milk donations. It’s not surprising because Pittsburghers are a giving bunch and we want to take care of our own.
Unfortunately, there is much to be done and Pittsburgh will not be having its own milk bank until 2015. However, that does not prevent local mothers from donating their life saving milk. On a national level donor milk is scarce and every donation is needed. To just meet the annual needs of all of the babies in the NICUs across the nation who do not have an adequate supply of milk from their mothers, 12 million ounces would be needed. In 2013, HMBANA milk banks processed 3 million ounces.
There are many established HMBANA milk banks across the country and donations can be shipped. The one closest to Pittsburgh is Ohio Health in Columbus and other locations can be found at www.hmbana.org. The screening process can be conducted via phone/mail/email and the blood draw can be done in Pittsburgh.