Where Can I Donate Breast Milk?
by Cathy (USA)
| Hi, My daughter is 6 months old. I do not need a wetnurse but I have a question you may be able to help with. I have so much frozen breast milk I would like to help someone else with it. I tried to donate the milk but they would not take it because I take Zyrtec every day and the hospitals would be giving this to premie babies. If there is any other way you know that I cangive this to someone, could you please let me know. I feel so bad that I can not throw this milk out. I know someone can benefit from this milk. My daughter sure has and I'm still breastfeeding her. Thank you.
|
Responses:
| Why don't you feed it to your baby? by Marie Davis Why don't you feed the breast milk to your baby? Frozen breast milk will keep for about a year in a zero degree (deep) freezer provided it is protected from freezer burn. (Only about 3 months or so in a freezer where the door is opened frequently). >As far as I know the HMBANA would not use your milk. The way they want the milk gathered and stored is very specific. There are people doing experimental work in need of Human Milk. Contact the Human Milk Banking Association of North America for more information. Their website is www.hmbana.org. Marie Davis RN IBCLC |
| Use it to mix with rice cereal You can use the frozen breast milk to reconstitute baby rice cereal when you are ready to start her on solid food. Indeed, even when your baby is old enough for Cheerios, you can still use human breast milk instead of cow's milk. If you feel that you must donate your breast milk, you can try asking at your local church to see if anyone is in need. If desperate, you can also put a notice up on craigslist and see what happens. However, you never know what you will get at craigslist: some folks are just weird and may think that you are offering more than the frozen milk. Worst yet, people might take your milk and then sue you for "damages" caused by the medication that you take. Even something simple like suggesting that your breast milk caused their baby to vomit will give you hours and hours of misery. Best to keep out of trouble and use the breast milk yourself. Either that or send it to a place that won't hold you liable for damages. Most people don't know this but breast milk is a biological fluid containing all kinds of active ingredients. In many ways, it is like blood.
|
