My review of the news coverage of the Haiti/donor milk issue has me asking a
few questions. 

Here is where the situation stands right now:

Background: 

- International Milk Banking Project IBMP responded to queries to donate
milk to Haiti by saying they'd look into it and urging people to donate to
HMBANA so stores could be replenished in order to provide milk to Haiti,
should it be possible. They indicated they'd be working with HMBANA (not
Prolacta, as they have in the past.)

- HMBANA indicated there wasn't any way to provide donor milk to Haiti,
encouraged people to donate money to a variety of organizations, and
encouraged people to donate milk to HMBANA so there would be an adequate
supply on hand if organizations came calling

- HMBANA and IBMP and staff aboard the USNS Comfort started working together
to provide donor milk to the peds/hospital on board that ship.

- HMBANA and several other US breastfeeding support/advocacy groups issued
an urgent call for human milk donations for Haiti, and to replenish US
stores

- concern about the appropriateness of this drive prompted international aid
groups and the Infant Feeding in Emergencies Core Group to pressure the
HMBANA group to retract their urgent call.

- USNS Comfort became less comfortable with the whole situation and the
donor milk is reported to be sitting on the ship, unused, while they sort
out what to do next.

As it stands right now the "urgent call" is still circulating on the 'net,
and the retraction is also being circulated, at about the same rate.
Bloggers and some media outlets are taking note of the confusion/conflict
and questions are being raised.

Here are some of my questions:

Blood/donor milk comparison: Some have suggested that it doesn't make sense
for the USNS Comfort milk bank drive to be called off - that it is about as
hard to ship blood as it is to ship human donor milk, and no-one would be
turning away blood donations. Is this true, is it as hard to ship blood as
it is to ship human milk?

Ethics/bait and switch?: Some are critical of IBMP and HMBANA, saying they
are exploiting the Haitian tragedy to benefit North American milk banks.
Back to blood donations for a moment, does anyone remember what happened in
the minutes and hours after 9/11? There was a call to give blood that went
out across North America. Did anyone think all that blood was going to go to
9/11 survivors? Was there a discussion of the ethics of this? I'm not asking
rhetorically, I can't remember.

Down the road: what would it take to have a human donor milk bank in Haiti?
I'm thinking of the model in Brazil, for example, that is being exported to
a number of other South America countries, albeit none of them are as poor
or devastated as Haiti. And I recognize the Brazil model was put in place to
address HIV positive mothers, and that research has led to more of those
mothers being able to breastfeed directly. However, there is a need to talk
about Haiti long-term. Is there a role for a discussion about human donor
milk banks as part of Haiti's future?

That's just about all for now, hoping to engage Lactnetters in an
informative and respectful discussion.

-- Jodine Chase
Tracking current news about human donor milk:
http://www.google.ca/reader/shared/chase.jodinechase

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