Dear Lacnetnetters,
I received a call from a mom of 2 week old baby who apparently has a
copious milk supply. She has 80 ounces of pumped breast milk in the
freezer that she has no use for (apparently she thought that one way to
get rid of the "extra" milk supply was to pump it out. . . I guess she
did not figure out that the pumping would contribute to the large milk
supply- and this is her second BF baby. . . and she pumped with the
first because she was working (now she is stay-at-home).
Anyway, she wanted to know about donating this milk for premies or sick
babies. . . she hates to have it wasted.I told her that as far as I
know, there are no milk banks in the Pittsburgh, PA area . . . and that
in fact there aren't that many milk banks in this country, period. Plus,
there are strict guidelines to be followed if you are pumping for a milk
bank, one cannot just call a milk bank and say "hey, I have all of this
extra frozen breast milk, wouldn't you like it?". I also told her I am
sure one would need to be tested for HIV and possibly other such
testing. . . that my belief is that you must be very careful about
sterile collection bottles, etc. I assume a mom would also have to fill
out some kind of application and be screened in some way.
Those of you who are more familiar with milk banks, is what I have
stated above true??? I told the mom I would try to get more info. (She
said someone told her that La Leechie League would know about donating
milk. . . )
I told her I really did not think her donating milk would be possible,
but I would try to get more info. and also I am now curious myself and
would like a little education in this area. She mentioned 2 specific
hospitals in this area- I suggested she call them herself and see what
they say. (I am sure they will decline the milk). \
I also thought of giving her the address of the  The Human Milk Banking
Assoc. of North America, Inc.
.+I have the address but not the phone no. Does anyone have the phone no.?
I thought if I gave her that, she could just call the place herself and
get the info. straight from the experts.
She basically wants to do a good deed and not just dump the milk. . . I
don't think she quite  "gets it" as far as the necessity for strict
guidelines about who can donate and the procedure for milk collection
and storage that must be followed (well, that I'm assuming must be
followed- not knowing the particulars). She said she would take an HIV
test and also asked "couldn't they just test the milk for HIV" and
assured me that she is careful as far as cleanliness etc. . . . .

Any info. would be appreciated, privately or to the list. . . don't know
how much general interest there would be in this.

WarmLLLy,Ellen Vegh, LLLL, in Pittsburgh, PA