Doug Hawkins:

As a Senior Vice President of Corporate Affairs you automatically have a conflict of interest to sell your product.  Having tracked down statements from Prolacta that were highly deceptive in the past, I don't take any comments from any representative of a for profit organization regarding human milk at face value.  I have minors in epidemiology from both Johns Hopkins University and Cornell for my MHS and PhD. 

So, what I would have expected from you is a clear-cut statement about the exact procedures you use for screening the milk and testing the nutritional content.  Many corporate executives claim their products are safe only to have later disclosures of failures.  The American Red Cross has had some notable mishaps in the past in terms of guaranteeing the safety of the blood supply which were subsequently cleared up.  So I only believe such statements when there is independently collected data to prove it or an independent oversight body.  I would never trust a company representative to provide me with safety data. 

What concerns me far more than the safety factor (since I lived near dairy farms and know perfectly well that providing uncontaminated milk is not rocket science) is the coercive factor.   I would want a detailed statement about the exact procedure for recruiting donors and how they are reimbursed for their time.  I would also want an impact statement on how providing this to Medolac influences how these women feed their own infants in a peer reviewed research study conducted independently of your laboratories. 

Finally, I like to know who runs a company.  Personalities can drive ethics and drive how those who raise honest questions about the quality of products are treated.  A good company, in my mind, welcomes critics who ultimately can enhance the product if the underlying concerns of the critics are treated.  The website doesn't list the CEO or any of the board members.  To me, that opacity speaks volumes.  

Your very comment that a few individuals are "purposely and maliciously spreading information" is a complete and total judgement call and could be perceived as corporate bullying.  Instead of attacking those who have legitimate concerns, had you merely responded with links to peer reviewed data I would have been more receptive to your message.  

Sincerely, 

Susan E. Burger, MHS, PhD, IBCLC, RLC

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