In a message dated 9/14/2007 4:18:42 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
[log in to unmask] writes:

it does reap huge monies by obtaining FREE breastmilk from
well-intentioned women and SELLING it to NICUs at the, last I heard of, rate
of over $35/ounce; it might even be up to $40/ounce by now (according to
reliable hearsay).  Is that ethical even in a capitalistic society?  The
Human Milk Bank Association of North America (HMBANA) is a much smaller
organization but it does not sell breastmilk to the needy; HMBANA only
charges a processing fee to those who can afford to pay it, and it is only
$3.50/ounce.  Why the huge difference in price between the two
establishments?  Why are NICUs so interested in purchasing the breastmilk at
an exorbitant rate when they were not so interested at the much more
reasonable rate?  Is breastmilk better when it costs so much more?  It seems
to me that the NICU hospitals think so, especially when some well-known
breastfeeding advocates endorse Prolacta and are/were on its scientific
advisory board! 

Dear Friends:
    People give blood away also, and its products are sold for high prices to 
cover the cost of liability and processing. 
    Are any milk banks financially solvent? I honestly don't know.
    I am of 2 minds on this topic. One, in the ideal world, every baby would 
get human milk. If not from its mother, then from some other certified safe 
woman or a certified safe milk bank. This would be available at no charge to all.
    (The whole notion of paying for health care in general is outrageous. We 
are the only nation I know where folks go bankrupt and have to have benefits 
to pay for their medical care. But I digress.........)
    Think about a company that deals with human milk? Can you imagine how 
difficult it must be to get started, what with all the scares about human fluids 
and processing and insurances and regulations. In a capitalistic society, 
particularly a toxic one that I see in the USA, when human milk carries a price 
tag, it will become more valuable. More babies will get human milk. If we have 
to do a money dance and enter into some craziness for that to happen, then I 
for one, will go along.
    What we've done in the past is too slow to meet the demand. A country our 
size should have half a dozen or more milk banks per state. 4 million babies 
born a year in the US (roughly). That's a lot of milk women have to provide!
    Multiply 4 million  by the $331-$475 (Ball and Wright Pediatrics 1999) 
that it costs per baby never breastfed. Add a drain on resources and increased 
pollution to that total, as industrial milks have to be made, processed, 
packaged, shipped, stored, distributed, sold.   Human milk is still cheaper!
       
    warmly,
    
    

 
Nikki Lee RN, MS, Mother of 2, IBCLC, CCE, CIMI
_http://www.breastfeedingalwaysbest.com/_ 
(http://www.breastfeedingalwaysbest.com/) 
www.myspace/AdonicaLee



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