Donating Breastmilk

there are milk banks.. I believe ther is a map online that will show you wher ethe closest one it..

it is a good thing to do to help sick babies.. unless you plan togo back to work and then you will need the milk..

I too had tons of frozen milk but Iwent back to work andused it all up ..

I have been on the recieving end from http://milkshare.forumotion.com/

There are plenty of moms there who can help take that milk off your hands.: ) They have instructions on shipping as well.

Good luck and thank you for being willing to share your milk!!

I donated milk after I had each of my kids. In TX there are not as many drop off locations available. Call the Mother's Milk Bank and they will let you know where the closest hospital is to you to drop off milk or they can mail you coolers that you can send your milk back in to them. Ihe drawback to mailing is that the coolers are rather small and you need to purchase dry ice to keep the milk cold.

TIP: Dry ice melts very quickly so buy it and mail you cooler the same day.

The number to the milk bank is ###-###-####.

Good Luck!!

I just wanted to say that I didn't know about this option when I was pregnant - I only heard about it recently. I think it is a wonderful thing that you are doing! I hope with my next one that I will get the opportunity to donate as well.

I'm not in your area, but I've donated to local babies. A friend of mine was an adoptive mom and needed breastmilk to get through the first year after the birth mom stopped providing it. I've also donated to a baby who's mom was no longer able to provide milk. Check with a local birth center and see if they know of anyone in need. It's much cheaper for the recipient to get it directly from a mom than through a bank. I've heard that banks charge around $3.50 an ounce. The adoptive mom (who wasn't legally allowed to pay me for milk) provided me with the milk storage bags and then would toss in a little gift for my daughter most times she picked up milk. It was never anything huge, but just a token of thank you since she wasn't allowed to pay but wanted to express her gratitude.

L.,

Yes, you can donate it several ways. I've donated with both of my girls, but check your email. I sent you a personal message and will follow up with you later.

Hi I just got bumped. I was saying with being so busy with hospital and other child, I felt too overwhelmed to take care of the smaller details. You must have a health history (vaccines, illnesses, etc) and fill out questionnaires. I would suggest you get some help with these details, though maybe with a four month old you can accomplish a task more readily. Good Luck. It would be a blessing for another baby and mom!

Hi L.,
I donated breastmilk through the International Breast Milk Project founded by Jill Youse last year and thought they were great. You go through a screening process which includes a long questionaire and a blood screening (paid for by them and not a hassle). They also verify you have a quality freezer to store the milk. When you become a qualified donor, you can just do a one-time donation and send in what you already have stored or continue to send in milk as you collect it. They are flexible. You just request a shipping container when you have enough to ship and they pay all shipping costs and pick it up at your front door!

I believe they work with a company called Prolacta Bioscience and also are part of a project that sends donated breastmilk to South Africa.

This isn't the only option, but I had a great experience and would donate through them again.