The Birthplace: Milk Bank - Fairview Health Services

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The Birthplace

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Milk Bank

The human milk bank at the University of Minnesota Medical Center and University of Minnesota Amplatz Children’s Hospital is a partnership between Fairview’s Birth and Family Education department and Prolacta Bioscience, Inc.™ Prolacta is a for-profit company in California that has developed new and innovative ways to process and engineer donated breast milk to provide the best nutrition for sick and preterm infants and others with unique medical needs. Prolacta is able to concentrate calories and formulate proteins in breast milk in such a way that an infant who is not receiving mother’s milk or is failing to gain weight may receive optimal nutrition. Prolacta’s milk products – including fortifiers made from human milk, not cows milk - have between 20-30 calories per ounce, depending on an infant’s needs. Breast milk and fortifier made from human milk provide important nutrients to babies who need it most, including:

preterm babies with very low birth weight
babies who can’t digest formula
sick babies who are failing to grow

Donated milk will give these infants the protections they need to fight germs and stay healthy.

Most healthy mothers with healthy babies are potential candidates for milk donation. The potential donor mom moves through a process much like she would at a blood bank. A detailed medical history is taken, her freezer temperature is approved, her blood is tested for various pathogens, and a genetic “fingerprint” is obtained for identification of her milk. In addition, she needs to provide verification of her health status from her care provider and permission to donate from her baby’s physician or NNP. Once she qualifies as a donor, she brings her milk into the hospital, where it is packed and shipped to California. After it is processed, it is distributed to Newborn Intensive Care Units around the country.

We provide approved donors with everything they need free of charge, including:

Freezer thermometers
Blood tests
Milk collection bags
Delivery containers

For more information about milk banking or becoming a milk bank donor, call 612-672-4122 or email milkbank@fairview.org. To apply to become a donor, go to www.milkbanking.net and choose our milk bank from the list provided.

Fairview features nearly 4,000 providers practicing at over 200 locations throughout the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area and beyond. Fairview Clinics, University of Minnesota Physicians and our independent partner clinics provide an exceptional care experience, while lowering the overall costs of health care.