With this topic of informal milk donations, I thought I would pass along LLLI's recent email on this topic. Kathy Eng, LLL and IBCLC


Bylaws Committee
1. The following policy was added to LLLI Policies and Standing Rules 
Notebook.

Milk Donations
La Leche League International fully supports the use of human milk for 
babies. The first priority of LLLI is to help mothers breastfeed their 
babies. Babies benefit from human milk donated by other mothers when 
their own mother's milk is unavailable.

When a mother contacts a Leader seeking donated human milk, the Leader 
shall respond with information and support. This shall include 
information about induced lactation and/or relactation. The Leader shall 
also suggest the mother dialogue with an appropriate, licensed health 
care provider and contact a licensed human milk bank or other regulated 
and medically supervised human milk collection center. The Leader shall 
inform any mother interested in using donated human milk for her baby, 
whether on an occasional or on a long term basis, of the documented 
risks and benefits connected with this form of infant feeding.

If a mother is interested in donating her milk, a Leader shall provide 
contact information for licensed human milk banks or other regulated and 
medically supervised collection centers. A Leader shall not ever 
pressure a mother to donate or to continue donating her breastmilk. A 
Leader shall maintain confidentiality of mothers’ information entrusted 
to her (relating to any potential donor or potential recipient). A 
Leader shall remind a potential donor mother that her own baby has a 
natural priority to her milk. A Leader shall inform a potential donor 
that: 1)the donor may request complete information from the milk bank or 
collection center about how her milk will be used; 2) the donor may 
inquire if she may restrict how her milk will be used; 3) she may make 
her decision about donation in the light of the information she receives 
from the milk bank or collection center.

A Leader shall not ever suggest an informal milk-donation arrangement, 
including wet-nursing or cross-nursing. If a mother wishes to discuss 
these options, the Leader’s role is to provide information about the 
risks and benefits.

2. Appendix 27, Guidelines for Milk Donations and the reference to it 
under “Milk Donations” was deleted from the LLLI Policies and Standing 
Rules.

Rationale: Appendix 27, Guidelines for Milk Donations, dates from 1992. 
Based on the recommendation of the Appendix 27 Workgroup the LLLI Board 
removed the Guidelines and adopted a policy about milk donations. This 
policy addresses new situations such as informal milk sharing, disasters 
or emergencies, and the emergence of for-profit milk banking. It 
provides principles for action rather than guidelines and is more 
global. The policy clarifies a Leader’s role in milk donation 
situations—the sharing of information and the provision of 
mother-to-mother support. Only the mother can decide upon her course of 
action. The policy will be complemented by a fact sheet that includes 
the risks and benefits of milk sharing. A LEAVEN article is forthcoming.

             ***********************************************

Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html
Mail all commands to [log in to unmask]
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or [log in to unmask])
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet or ([log in to unmask])
To reach list owners: [log in to unmask]