Hi, my name is Stacie Ohnstad and I am a nursing student looking for a little more information from some of the more experienced in the field.Can anyone pass on their knowledge? Over the last week or so I have been hearing more and more about donating breast milk and breast milk banks which are fairly new topics to me, a second semester junior nursing student. I have seen that some recent posts have been regarding the GMA story and the January 17th World News Tonight report on this subject. I have heard it referred to as being "like blood". I understand the importance of breast milk for nutrition especially in the premature and VLBW babies. Even though the physicians push for breastfeeding in the NICU, I am not aware of any use of milk banks or donated milk in the facility that we do clinicals in. I am curious as to what the policies are in place in other areas specifically if there are stipulations as to who can receive it, if there are consents that are to be signed and if it is handled like blood? According to Bromberg Bar-Yam (2003) some milk is pasteurised and some is not. There is a concern about the milk being contaminated before it reaches the bank so this is necessary. Gras-Le Guen, Lepelletier, Debillon, Gournay, Espaze, and Roze (2003)also state that there may be a concern about pasteurization causing an outbreak in one NICU. Can anyone comment on whether or not there are special > cases where one is preferred? Lindeman, Fashaugen & Lindemann (2004) found that donors are screened for HIV, Hep B/C, CMV, and TB. Do any of you feel that the benefits overwhelmingly outweigh the risks? References Bromberg Bar-Yam, Naomi. (2003). Political Issues: An Introduction to Human Milk Banking. The International Journal of Childbirth Education. 18, 22-25. Debillon T., Espaze, E., Gournay, V., Gras-Le Guen, C., Lepelletier D., Roze, J.C. (2003). Contamination of a Milk Bank Pasteuriser Causing a Pseudomonas aeruginosa Outbreak in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Archives of Diseases in Childhood. Fetal and Neonate Edition, 88, F434-F435. Fashaugen, I., Lindemann, P.C., Lindemann, R. (2004). Characteristics of Breast Milk and Serology of Women Donating Breast Milk to a Milk Bank. Archives of Diseases in Childhood. Fetal and Neonate Edition. 89, F440-F441. *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html