Become a donor

Thank you for considering donating your breast milk to our Milk Bank. This is a chance for you to be part of our mission to help thousands of vulnerable premature babies by giving them access to donated breast milk.

What is pasteurised donor human milk and who does it help?

Pasteurised donor human milk is what we call your breast milk after it’s been tested and treated at our processing centre. Each year in Australia, thousands of babies are born prematurely and these vulnerable babies can face unique health challenges.¹

Mother’s own breast milk is the best possible nutrition for premature babies². Some mothers find it hard to supply breast milk as their baby can’t feed from the breast in the early weeks. Some of the most vulnerable babies often have limited access to breast milk.

Very few of the Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Australia currently have access to a sufficient supply of pasteurised donor human milk, but together, we can change this.

Can you donate?

Safety is at the heart of everything we do.

In order to protect the premature babies that may receive donated milk, we need to make sure you meet our eligibility criteria. These babies are vulnerable, meaning some lifestyle choices or your medical history may make you ineligible to donate your breast milk.

If you don’t meet our criteria, be reassured that your own breast milk is the best possible nutrition for your own baby.

Some of the factors we need to consider include:

• Whether you’ve smoked or used nicotine replacement therapy in the last 6 months
• How much alcohol you regularly consume
• If you’ve used recreational drugs in the past 12 months
• Whether you’re at risk for certain blood borne diseases including vCJD (the human form of the condition sometimes known as ‘mad cow disease’)
• If you have received blood products (excluding Anti D) in the last 12 months
• The age of your baby
• The amount of breast milk you’re expressing
• Whether you’re over the age of 18

It’s important that we’re able to collect your breast milk. We can currently receive breastmilk from donors in Sydney or Adelaide.

Not eligible? There are other ways you can help.

References
1. Gephart SM, McGrath JM, Effken JA, Halpern MD. Necrotizing enterocolitis risk: state of the science. Advances in neonatal care: official journal of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses. 2012 Apr;12(2):77-87; quiz 8-9. PubMed PMID: 22469959. Pubmed Central PMCID: PMC3357630. Epub 2012/04/04. eng.
2. Quigley M, McGuire W. Formula versus donor breast milk for feeding preterm or low birth weight infants. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews. 2014 Apr 22(4):CD002971. PubMed PMID: 24752468. Epub 2014/04/23. eng.