Georgia,
Thanks very much for this additional information.
Yes, I agree, evaluating research would be extremely difficult.
It is unfortunate that it is not possible to restrict the use of milk once
it leaves the milk bank.....I wonder if it is possible for the milk banks to
retain "ownership" of milk even after it has passed into the hands of others
and thus be able to control use??? It would be worth aiming for.

>     The new HMBANA guidelines regarding research are in the developmental
stage. Existing banks have operated independently in the past and now we
have identified a need to have specific HMBANA guidelines as many of us do
not feel competent to evaluate a research request.
>      One difficulty is that we are not able to  control the use of donor
milk after we have dispensed the milk to recipient hospitals and must rely
on trust of their intentions.

If my memory serves me right Valerie posted a patent in the last couple of
months that stated that the source of the milk was a milk bank but I am
worry I cannot remember which one and I was unsuccessful in locating the
post in an archive search.

>       I am unsure whether or not this is accurate and will personally
contact each milk bank regarding this issue.  It seems that there are easier
ways of obtaining human milk than HMBANA milk banks which have specific
recipient criteria.

I'm glad. Patenting and genetic engineering of human milk components is a
serious issue and one that I think has crept up on us all a bit. Lets hope
we can work together to combat this very real threat.

>     I welcome interest in donor milk banking and understand that your
concern comes from the desire to protect the trust of potential donor moms
and to limit the use of human milk for what we would consider unethical
research. I would expect nothing else from the lactation community...that is
our responsibility.

Karleen Gribble
Australia

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