Hospital needs for milk donations have nearly tripled
May 12, 2022, 6:28 PM | Updated: Jun 19, 2024, 4:26 pm
SALT LAKE CITY — The hospitals have doubled and almost tripled their need for milk donations from the Mountain West Mother’s Milk Bank.
The organization says they saw a drop in donors this past winter, and they are seeing more now during the formula crisis, but they need more.
Breast milk is easily digested and generally more tolerated by babies. Which has lead to an increased demand for it at the Mountain West Mothers Milk Bank.
According to Jenny Noren, Director of Operations Mountain West Mothers Milk Bank, breast milk frozen after 4 days of pumping lasts for up to a year.
There is a very thorough treatment process the milk bank does to make sure the milk is safe and good for the babies, and then a lot of preparation goes into getting breast milk donations ready for delivery.
“We are extremely careful about how we treat it,” Noren said.
The Mountain West Milk Bank made their first delivery in January of 2020… then a pandemic hit. Noren says donations stalled during the start of the pandemic — then again this winter, but with the recent formula shortage– the demand is at an all time high. “It’s been a wild ride!” Noren said. “We are seeing hospital orders double and triple.” The Milk Bank serves the whole state and has 20 different drop off sites. They’re asking for donors to help them feed these babies in need. It’s actually easier for babies to digest and tolerate than formula.“We average about 200 — 250 donors simultaneously to get milk. With the demand from hospitals and clinics right now we could easily use twice that.”
This is an excellent thread on the history of infant feeding! I want to add here a case about the dangers of using of “papilla” I found in my own research.
Warning, this involves infant cadavers 1/ https://t.co/hgdqfkAKiD
— celia crifasi (@ce_cedilla) May 12, 2022
/>If you need milk or want to donate — they have Spanish and English resources on their website found here.