Urgent Call for Human Milk Donation

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Permalink Reply by Jenni on January 27, 2010 at 10:36am

Kristin: Thanks for sharing this! I have been considering this, but may need to put in some extra pumping time for it! :-) I pray that I can accomplish this b/c it just seems like something that needs to be done - regardless of whether there is a Haiti situation or not. :-)

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Permalink Reply by Kristin Detloff on January 27, 2010 at 12:01pm

Yes definitely! Also the only time I pump is once in the morning preferably before Mira nurses. For me once my babies hit their first growth spurt and then level out, combined with sleeping longer through the night, I am able to pump about 8 oz and then still have plenty for her morning feeding. Let me know if you have any questions and I will certainly share what I know! Thanks for considering donation!!! :-)

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Permalink Reply by Jenni on January 28, 2010 at 10:23am

Yes, please share more of your experience with this. I live in Missouri, and am wondering the closest place I could send milk to. Also, how long does it take you to build up the supply they request when donating? Thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Kristin Detloff on January 28, 2010 at 11:52pm

Ok. Well when I was looking into milk banks I wanted to make sure I picked a good one. The consensus from anything I read is to go with a HMBANA bank as they are non-profit and very reputable. There are some for-profit banks that are out there and try to lure in clients by offering free breastpumps etc but I didn't feel I had the time or ability to investigate the ethics of a for-profit so I didn't even consider them.

Next I found that, like you, there were no HMBANA milk banks in my state or boardering states so I needed to find somewhere that would take shipments. I know For Sure that the bank in California will ship as that's the one I am going through, but I believe the one in Colorado will as well. The information for them can be found below.

As far as getting the milk built up this has always happened on it's own for me. My babies sleep through the night pretty well so once my milk supply builds up I find myself needing to pump in the morning prior to feeding them. That's when it's easiest for me to get a let down while pumping which is when you will get the most milk. The baby won't have trouble getting me to let down again when nursing, but for me if I pump after I nurse the baby I rarely get a let down and so don't get much milk that way. By the time they are 2 1/2 to 3 months I am pumping about 7-9oz a morning before feeding them and still having plenty left over for a full feeding sometimes I even end up pumping a bit more after they are done just to empty myself fully. For me, I don't pump any other time during the day unless i have missed the morning pumping since baby was up a couple times and nursed more or something like that. I do find that when they are ramping up for a growth spurt they will eat more and I will not feel full so will not pump for a week or two and then once my supply catches up with their growth spurt or they taper off a bit I end up needing to pump again.

My daughter will be 4 months on Saturday and I have a freezer full that would never be used by her unless something greatly unexpected occurs. The bank I am working with takes shipments of 100 - 200oz and I probably have over 200oz right now without any problem. You would just have to start pumping and seeing what you get on average and you would be able to calculate how long it would take you to get to 100oz. They also will take milk that was collected prior to your application up to 5 months old. My understanding is that your milk storage bags just need to have the date written on them and I think they ask you to put your donor number on them as well. They send you a crate with everything you need in it to ship the milk out. At most you may have to buy $5 worth of dry ice. You just pack it up and ship it off and you're set!

I would start the process right away incase it takes longer. I'm not sure if donor response has increased due to their press release or not..I would assume it has. So it may take a bit longer then normal if that is the case. Regardless the first step would be to give them a call. When I called they asked if I had a couple minutes and I did so they asked me the screening questions which is maybe 10 questions about things that would most commonly rule someone out as being a donor. (It's mainly questions about diseases, medications, or STD's etc) Once you pass that they will mail out the paperwork which can be filled out pretty easily. There will also be one forum for your doctor to sign off on and one for your baby's doctor to sign off on. I think they send one more to the clinic regarding if you have been tested for things like Aids, hepatitis, etc, and as the clinic to sign it and fax it back. (that was all done in a day for me. very easy as everything is stored in the computers now) Then once they look over your forum they have you do the lab work. They have specific labs that they will send you to. If you're near any large city you should have no trouble. I am from ND however and there wasn't a lab nearby so the director sent my doctor what was needed and they ordered the tests. In my case I will have to send them my bill and they will pay it, but if you go through one of their labs you wouldn't see a bill at all.

So that's my story! Right now I'm just waiting on them to send me my crate and my shipment will be off!

Let me know if there is anything else you have questions about!

The clinic info for the locations that take shipments is below. This is the HMBANA website: http://www.hmbana.org/index/locations

CALIFORNIA
Mothers' Milk Bank
751 South Bascom Ave
San Jose, CA 95128
Phone (408) 998-4550
FAX (408) 297-9208
mothersmilkbank@hhs.co.santa-clara.ca.us
www.milkbanksj.org
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COLORADO
Mothers' Milk Bank
Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center
1719 E 19th Ave
Denver, CO 80218
Phone (303) 839-7692
Laraine.Lockhart-Borman@healthonecares.com

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Permalink Reply by Karen Murphy Corr on January 29, 2010 at 3:09am

And in case any mothers wonder why the call for donating breastmilk instead of formula, here's a statement made by INFACT in co-operation with UNICEF and the World Health Organization that outlines why.... For anyone who doesn't want to read the link, basically in times of crisis water supplies are compromised. It is safer for babies to have breastmilk than to risk being fed contaminated formula (plus all the other risks with introducing formula).

Great initiative, Kristin. I wish so much that I'd thought of donating breastmilk when our son was stillborn in May. I didn't and regret it very much.

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Permalink Reply by Kristin Detloff on January 29, 2010 at 2:25pm

Thanks for posting this! It's a great explanation! Also I'm doing a childbirth educator course and part of our curriculum focuses on infant loss. I had never thought about breastmilk donation after a still birth but I think for many women it would likely be a very beautiful way to see something positive come from such a tragic loss. Thank you for sharing your thoughts on that, I will incorporate that into one of my handouts/classes.

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Permalink Reply by elizabeth arendale on October 31, 2010 at 5:58am

i am thinking about doing this- we are expecting a baby with "incompatibility with life" issues. i really want someone to make use of my milk. it has been so beneficial for my older babes:)
one thing my nfp teacher/good friend has told me though is that it may screw with my fertility readings- and at a time where i may want a little time before conceiving it may be an issue-

part of me though wants to just do the charitable thing and trust God will provide.

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Permalink Reply by Kristin Detloff on October 31, 2010 at 11:01am

That sounds like a beautiful gift and one that you can feel out as you go. If it was too emotional to continue pumping or milk supply just wasn't working for you, you could certainly stop at any time. I would suggest maybe talking with a board certified lactation consultant about the specifics of it and also talk to a donor clinic to makes sure they don't have any sort of regulations for your specific situation. I can't see why their would be any difference milk quality wise but an LC and milk bank head should know for certain.

As far as charting you would chart like a normal postpartum woman. Where I could see it possibly being a little bit different is that the pumping would likely delay ovulation but without having baby present with you, you would likely tend to ovulate sooner. But this can vary from woman to woman anyway under normal circumstances...you just may see a difference from previous births if you have other children you have nursed. If you use a sympto-thermal method you can more easily confirm that ovulation has occurred with temp rise which can help clarify what you are seeing happen hormonally with your cervical mucus. But the rules for postpartum charting should be the same, you would just consider yourself potentially fertile and would start charting as soon as bleeding decreased vs having the 8 week infertility rule given to exclusively nursing moms. I'm sure CCL central would be willing to give you some guidance with this if you contact them. Their should be a number on their site or definitely feel free to message me at any time and I can send you my private e-mail and makes sure you are able to get in contact with the right person both at CCL or the California donor clinic etc.

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