Brittany,
  I don't  know if you've received answers to your questions, so I'll  
give it a try.

Begin forwarded message:
> Does the milk stay preserved with the natural immunoglobulins and
> other essential components?
Some elements are lost or reduced in the freezing and pasteurizing  
process. I
think it is important to keep in mind that banked milk is primarily  
used to supplement
mothers' own milk when mother does not have enough for her baby for  
whatever
reason. It is clearly not as good as mothers' own fresh milk, but it  
is just as clearly
a better alternative than formula to supplement what  mother cannot  
supply.

> How much does banked breast milk composition differ from
> the milk when a baby directly nurses and how long is the milk kept
> at the banks before it becomes unsafe to distribute?
As I understand it, the pasteurized can be kept frozen for several  
months,
but I think it rarely lasts that long in the freezer before it is  
needed.
>
> Tully, (2000) reports that the demand is becoming greater than the
> supply and while banked breast milk is mainly used in low birth weight
> infants, it is also being used for older children with or without  
> any medical
>  conditions and even for adult cancer patients.
> How do donor banks decide who is to receive the milk when supply is  
> low?
HMBANA has a list from highest to lowest priority, most critical to  
least critical,
and community benefit to individual benefit/choice.
They are listed in the "Guidelines for the Establishment and  
Operation of a Donor
Human Milk Bank" (HMBANA, 2007) available on their website HMBANA.org

Hope this helps.

Naomi Bar-Yam

------------------------------------------
Naomi Bar-Yam Ph.D.
Executive Director
Mothers' Milk Bank of New England

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617-964-6676
------------------------------------------






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