Cheshire & North Wales Human Milk Bank: Becoming a donor

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If you are interested in becoming a donor mother, please contact us and we will be in touch at a convenient time for you.

Benefits to donating milk?

Breastmilk gives babies the best start possible in life but sometimes there are reasons why the mum of a newborn, particularly a premature baby, cannot breastfeed herself. The mum might be physically unable to breastfeed due to illness, or perhaps needs help to establish her milk supply in the first few days after having a premature baby.

Picture courtesy of www.yanaphotography.co.uk

Who can donate Breast Milk?

Many the of women who donate milk are giving something back because they were helped themselves but you can donate even if your child has not needed help. Donors can:

Take the progesterone-only contraceptive pill.
Insulin
Thyroxin
asthama inhalers.

The first donation must be within six months of starting breastfeeding.

Donors cannot:

take any other medication.
smoke.
drink more than two units of alcohol per day.
drink more than two cups of coffee per day.

Due to a change in UKAMB Guidelines, we are no longer able to accept donor milk from mothers who have had a blood transfusion.

Donations cannot be accepted for a month following any immunisation/vaccination and six months following any body-piercing.

Donations must stop if the woman develops mastitis or any other infection which needs treatment until 24 hours following the cessation of medication.

Screening and Milk Donation

Picture courtesy of www.yanaphotography.co.uk

All potential donor mothers are screened before their milk can be used. This process involves obtaining a medical history from the mother, either at her home or in hospital if she is still on the ward, as well as blood tests which are in the main the same as those carried out during pregnancy.

Once she has been screened she can begin to spend a few minutes each day expressing off her extra milk. The donor mother will be informed of her results by post within approximately three weeks of being screened.

The milk bank will provide sterilised bottles for her to use for her expressed milk. This milk can be stored in her freezer for up to three months before being pasteurised. In line with environmental health guidance, we will provide her with a freezer thermometer to ensure the milk is being stored at the recommended temperature. When it is convenient to the donating mother, we will collect the milk direct from her home.

Cost of Screening

Although the donated milk is given freely, it has been calculated that the cost of screening volunteer donors, collecting donated milk, testing, processing and storing, costs in the region of £100 per litre. These costs are met from charitable donations received by the milk bank.

Picture: Charlotte Jane Hourihane

Promotion for Donor Mums

If you are an organisation involved with breastfeeding mothers, we would really appreciate your help.

Please download our A5 flyer featuring baby Charlotte and place on noticeboards or circulate to your members and help us reach more donor mums.

click here to download file

Click here to read our stories from women who have donated breast milk...

For more information, call Lynda Coulter on
Tel: 01244 366416 Email: info@chestermilkbank.org.uk

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