Donor Milk Bank

The Milk Bank at Birmingham Women's Hospital is the only one in the West Midlands. It provides donor breast milk for its own neonatal babies and also distributes donor breast milk to many local and national hospitals including Birmingham Children's Hospital.

What is a Human Milk bank
Human Milk Banks are for collection, screening, pasteurisation, storing and distribution of Donated Human Breast Milk. There are approximately 17 Milk Bank services in the UK providing a valuable service to Neonatal Units caring for sick and premature babies across the country.

Why use Donor Breast Milk ?
Research has demonstrated that by being fed breast milk, there is an improved reduction of infection and other problems which can occur in sick or premature babies due to its special anti-infective properties; this increases their chances of survival and helps their long term development.

Unfortunately breast milk is not always available from a mother due to insufficient supply, maternal illness or geographical separation from the baby. Using donor breast milk is a safe alternative as many checks are in place to screen Donor Mothers and donor breast milk.

Who can donate breast milk?
Mothers who have established breast feeding with their own baby and find they have surplus milk to their baby's requirements.
Enrolment as a Donor must be before your baby is four months old. You can continue to donate until your baby is six months old.

This may not seem a long time to provide donor breast milk, but you would be surprised at what some of our mothers have donated!

How much breast milk are Donors expected to produce?
Sick or premature babies benefit from even the smallest quantities of breast milk. Each mother produces different amounts at different times. Women find that the amount they express varies from day to day.

Milk banking incurs expenses so mothers are asked to donate a minimum of 20 bottles to justify this cost. Bottles are 100ml/4floz in size.

One bottle of donor breast milk could feed up to five premature or sick babies for the day.

Every drop really does count!

To find out more or to speak to the Milk Bank about becoming a Donor, please contact the Milk Bank on 0121 472 1377 ext 4040.

This page was last modified on Tue Sep 06 2011