Don't flame me, but there is a formula for infants with severe allergies that is not made of intact protein at all. It is called Neocate and is produced in a lab from free amino acids so that there is really no risk of any reaction to portions of small peptides that were not adequately hydrolyzed. There can be an allergic reaction with the other so called hydrolyzed protein formulas which are not really elemental at all. We see breastfed babies are have bloody stools that are allergic to cow's milk. Often the babies have received several bottles of formula. I also see moms who drank gallons of milk all during pregnancy and lactation so the babies are probably already sensitized. Sometimes it works to have the moms totally eliminate dairy from their diets. Sometimes the kids continue with bloody stools. Sometimes the moms are scared and want to wean (they obviously have been swayed by the gastroenterologist's opinion). These kids usually do very well with weight gain and tolerance to feeds on Neocate (if they'll drink it - it tastes awful). We do not use donor milk here, but if the donor milk contains traces of cow's milk protein antigen, it won't help the baby, will it? Don't misunderstand me. I fight for continued breastfeeding with the docs all the time and will always advocate for the moms, but I just want to say that I have seen cases of severe allergies where the breast milk just wasn't working. Rachelle Lessen,RD, IBCLC Philadelphia, PA USA mailto:[log in to unmask]