Milk donations for profit?

Today, I read an article that absolutely horrified me. Written by Amy on Just West of Crunchy, the article is called Swindled: The Ugly Side of Milk Donation. It’s US-based, rather than Irish, and I don’t think this issue applies to Ireland because as far as I am aware, we only have one milk bank here – the Sperrin Lakeland Milk Bank in Fermanagh, and they seem to be completely legitimate, thankfully. (In fact, judging by this article on Irishhealth.com, they are doing excellent work: Ireland only human milk bank)

But it seems that women who choose to donate their milk in the US don’t have any guarantee that the milk bank they are dealing with is a non-profit organisation. Instead, the “milk bank” they are dealing with is actually a middle-man of sorts, accepting their donations, and selling it to Prolacta, who use it to make human milk products, which are used in the care of premature babies. Now I know you could argue that the end result is the same – women donate their milk to help premature babies, and Prolacta products are used in the care of premature babies. But I take issue with a company profiting from donated milk.

And as Amy goes on to point out, true non-profit milk banks are suffering as a result, because milk that would have otherwise gone to them has gone to a profit-seeking company instead.

Actually, Prolacta aside, because at least they produce a product that is used in the care of premature babies, even if it is taking free donations and turning a profit from them – the middle-men donor banks really sicken me, because what do they offer to the whole equation? Add an extra cost to the process so that by the time the milk product is being sold for preemie care, it’s even more expensive.

It’s an eye-opening article, and one that I think anyone considering milk donation in the US should read before choosing a donor milk bank. Here’s that link again: Swindled: The Ugly Side of Milk Donation

Or if you’re like me and had never heard of a For Profit milk bank before today, and would like to learn more about Prolacta, I suggest you check out these articles on BreastfeedingTruth.com.

Or if you’d like to learn a little about the Irish experience with milk banks, why not check on this guest post on Andmybaby’s blog: Donating breastmilk to help premature babies – one girl’s story…