The discussion about why human milk donors cannot be paid is interesting for me, because in Bulgaria it is how the milk bank functions - by PAID donors and that's how it has been functioning for about 40 years now.

The function of the milk bank is funded by the municipality of our capital city and the municipality pays the difference between how much is paid to the donors and the cost of the milk if you want to buy it (donors get about $6 per liter, but it is sold for only a bit more than $1 per liter). The milk is free for the babies who have doctor's oreder stating they have an allergy or an illness.

All the tests are paid by the bank and don't cost anything for the donor. There is a required amount of donated milk though - 300 ml per day, so that's reducing substantially the willingness amongst the mothers to become a donor and that's why the bank doesn't have milk for all the families willing to pay. The collected milk is given first to babies who need it per doctor's order and if something is left, it could be bought from others.

So - if there is a will, there is a way ;-) It is by no means perfect, but I fail to see why donors cannot be paid for what they are doing - especially if a company makes a profit from the donated milk. It seems unethical for me to not compensate the people who make your business possible - if there were no donors, Prolacta could not function.

Just my 2 cents,

Christina Yaneva
BF Peer Councellor
Bulgaria



      

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