I know what Valerie McClain is getting at when she describes the irony of having to get a prescription for donor milk but not formula, but I want to make a point about why prescriptions are needed for donor milk. At present, due to shortages, it is important to prioritize this precious commodity for the smallest or most ill babies. At the Mothers Milk Bank at Austin, we have two ethicists on our board. Currently a rabbi and a Catholic nun serve in this capacity. Our board has developed an ethics policy to help make decisions on who gets the milk first. Ability to pay is secondary, although certainly the cost of screening and processing contributes to ability to serve wide numbers of people. So to some extent, the prescription process prevents this from becoming a first come-first-serve with money-in-hand kind of deal. Barbara Wilson-Clay BSEd, IBCLC Austin Lactation Associates http://www.lactnews.com *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html