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Human Milk Banking History

milk2The practice of human milk banking is over 100 years old.  Human milk banking is older than blood banking and has a safe track record.  Modern milk banking grew in the early 1900’s when wet nursing became less practical and the development of refrigeration and a greater knowledge of safe food processing allowed for pasteurization.  The first milk bank in the United States was established in 1910 in Boston, MA.  As this practice has grown, the Human Milk Banking Association of North America was established in 1985. The most famous recipients of donor milk is the Dionne quintuplets from Ontario.  The Junior League of Toronto coordinated efforts to provide the quints with donated milk and is credited with helping them to not only survive, but to thrive. More hospital are now purchasing donor milk to feed high risk, ill or premature infants for medical and therapeutic uses.  Below you will find links for studies and research on human milk as well as articles describing the use of human milk….Lori J Isenstadt, IBCLC

Links

Videos

Establishing a donor human milk bank for the medically fragile babies of our region.

Every baby deserves human milk and every grieving parent deserves to heal. Stricken by the loss of her pre-term baby girl, Kelley finds a way to heal by becoming a breast milk donor for other sick infants in the NICU. She encounters a world of giving volunteers, academics, practitioners, and one little special boy. This film chronicles the altruistic milk donations made by mothers as well as the service and science of

http://www.texasmilkbank.org/ Donor human milk helps hundreds of babies survive and thrive, and the donation process is easy and rewarding. Hear from multiple donor moms as they discuss donating their milk and the sense of pride that comes along with helping babies in need.