This afternoon I had a call from a woman in another community who
wanted to know if I had heard of banked human milk being fed to
children who are ill.  She was calling regarding her sister's
grandchild who is two years old and just completed chemotherapy
for a neuroblastoma.  The child is suffering from post-chemo side effects
including oral sores and is not able to tolerate food by mouth.
There is also has a history of allergies.  I do not know how long
breastfeeding lasted.  The caller was very enthusiastic about
the benefits of breastmilk, and is hoping that human milk might be
the most easily tolerated and beneficial transition to solids.  I
advised her to contact the Vancouver Milk Bank to check if a short
term supply of milk could be made available.

 I wonder if any of you have experience with feeding banked milk to
an ill child in similar circumstances?  I am aware that the virtues
of human milk for adults in certain circumstances has previously been
raised on lactnet.  Obviously this child is not beyond the normal age
for breastfeeding and most of us would not dispute that human milk is
a nutritious and appropriate food for a two year old.  Published
literature, or contact information, that would help attending
physicians evaluate this intervention, would be especially
appreciated.  I am posting this request with the caller's permission.

Suzanne McBride,

community breastfeeding clinic,
and LLL leader/AAPL

British Columbia, Canada