Dixie and I have both received messages from people who want to know how to go about shipping breast milk from North America to Haiti.
The shipment of breast milk that we received last night came from a Breast Milk Bank in Ohio. I understand that there are donor breast milk banks in most states in the USA.
The milk was pasteurized at the milk bank, and was shipped to Haiti by a company called QuickStat, who specialise in the transportation of Biopharmaceutical substances. QuickStat packed the milk on dry ice and transported it to Haiti.
The staff at God's Littlest Angels, are very interested in receiving regular shipments of breast milk for our orphaned, premature and medically fragile infants. There are a few issues:
*Obtaining milk that has been properly screened for infection - donor milk banks have a thorough screening process
*Ensuring that the milk is handled correctly and that it is transported quickly and safely to Haiti,
*Getting the milk through customs with any paper work that may be required
*The financial cost of achieving all of this.
We would appreciate input from anyone who might be able to help us to obtain regular shipments of donor breast milk. There isn't a formula on the market that can nourish infants the way that mothers' milk can. Breast milk is easily digested, it contains substances that are vital to infants' brain development and that support their immune systems.
"Where it is not possible for the biological mother to breastfeed, the first alternative, if available, should be the use of human breast milk." (The World Health Organization/The UN Children's Emergency Fund.)
Friday, 2 April 2010
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3 comments:
What a great idea Susan!!! I wish I was still breast feeding, but then again I am glad that I am not: Luca is 3 1/2 yrs. old... :-) But, my mom always said that there was blubber in my milk, because my babies were SOOOO FAT!!!!!!!!!! People always joked that I should be a missionary to a 3rd world country with my milk and serve by feeding malnourished babies.
I will be praying that this will all work out! What a great gift that someone can give!!!
I have been pumping exclusively for my twin 6 month old boys and have quite a bit of excess in storage. If there is any way I can help I would be more than happy to!
I tend to be a milk machine and can generally get 14-18 oz per pumping session (every 4-5 hrs).
If I contact a milk bank, can I designate where the milk goes? Any info would be much appreciated.
Misty,
Congratualtions on your fantastic supply of milk! I am so pleased that you have a surplus and that you are interested in donating this to help fragile infants whose mothers can not prodice milk for them.
Donating your milk to God's Littlest Angels would probably be very expensive, and so I would suggest that you contact your nearest milk bank. You should be able to get contact details through an intenet search.
You would not have the option of specifying where your milk goes, but I guarantee that it will benefit the infants who receive it.
If you would like to send you milk to infants in the developing world, you may like to consider contacting the International Breast Milk Project:
http://www.breastmilkproject.org/donate_milk_alternate.php. They regularly ship donor milk to AIDS orphaned babies in Africa.
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