Milk bank donor also donated privately, says it was safe

This article features a mom who donated to the developing milk bank in Oregon, and who also donated privately to a mother with a baby born at term who wasn't eligible for milk from the mil bank. The mom notes it was safe because she was already tested and approved as a donor by the milk bank.

Northwest Mothers Milk Bank Halfway to its Fundraising Goal | The Lund Report: Northwest Mothers Milk Bank Halfway to its Fundraising Goal

The group needs to purchase lab equipment before it can start processing donations locally
By: Christen McCurdy
November 22, 2011 -- The Northwest Mothers Milk Bank is halfway toward its fundraising goal of $400,000 – the amount the organization needs to open a physical location to process donations.

The bump is thanks to a $125,000 donation from Oregon Health Insurers Partnering for Prevention (OHIPP), a group of health insurers convened by the Oregon Public Health Institute....

Stored breast milk in critically short supply at B.C. women's bank

Canada's HMBANA milk bank in Vancouver has joined its US counterparts in a call for breast milk donations, citing a critical shortage due to increased demand.

Stored breast milk in critically short supply at B.C. woPublish Postmen's bank:

Vancouver Sun, Nov 16, 2011

...The supply of frozen breast milk at B.C. Women's Milk Bank is running low, with only 60 bottles available to help feed premature and sick babies, instead of the 400 or more bottles the facility would normally have stock-piled at this time of year.

"In November, to be this low is unusual. It's lower than in previous years," said Frances Jones, program coordinator for Lactation Services and the Milk Bank at B.C. Women's Health Centre.

"We tend to have a crisis around Christmas and summer, when every-one is busy or away. [Right now it] is mainly because the demand is going up, with a greater awareness of the benefit of breast milk and the donor program."

The number of donors has been increasing over the years, she added, "but it's still not enough." Last year 165 donors were screened for donations, compared to 135 the previous year. She said donors are asked to provide a minimum of 100 ounces of breast milk.

Look who has jumped on the breastmilk shortage bandwagon...

One of for-profit Prolacta's collection sites for breastmilk for their NICU fortifier product has positioned itself to take advantage of the not-for-profit donor milk bank association HMBANA's call for donations.

The messaging isn't quite the same - they don't say demand is up, they say donors are down. They point to milksharing as a possible reason. Note, however, Prolacta doesn't believe human milk is a scarce resource. They believe the problem is a lack of awareness and note women dump unused milk "down the drain" This messaging echoes a quote often used by Human Milk 4 Human Babies founder Emma Kwasnica, who says milk is not a scare commodity and points to women having to dump freezers full down the drain.

Supplies Down, Demand Up For Donated Breast Milk - capradio.org: Supplies Down, Demand Up For Donated Breast Milk
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...Donated breast milk for premature babies is running low in Sacramento.

By Steve Milne

Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Ruth Cummings is with The Birth Center Milk Bank in Sacramento.

"For the last three or four months our donation rate has been down."

The non-profit collects donated breast milk for Prolacta, a product sold for-profit and prescribed to high-risk babies to help fight against infection....

Medela one of the funders in stem-cell/breastmilk research

How do you expand your market if you are a breast-pump company? One way would be to fund research that sees human milk used as medicine for people who aren't babies. A University of Western Australia researcher has identified human milk as a source of stem cells and this Medela news release asks "could this finally be the answer to ethically and easily obtaining pluripotent stem cells in a non-invasive manner?" There needs to be acknowledgement of the ethical considerations of using human milk as a source for stem cells.

Stem Cells in Breastmilk -- BAAR, Switzerland, Nov. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -

The theory developed in 2007 by scientists at the University of Western Australia (UWA) that breastmilk contains stem cells has been taken to a higher level with the latest discovery by one of the team's newer members. UWA Ph.D. candidate Foteini Hassiotou has proven that stem cells from breastmilk can now be directed to become other body cell types such as bone, fat, liver and brain cells. Could this finally be the answer to ethically and easily obtaining pluripotent stem cells in a non-invasive manner? And what does this mean with regard to the unique power of breastmilk for the growth and development of babies?

Stem Cells in Breastmilk – Theory Becomes Reality

Following Hassiotou's recent win of the 2011 AusBiotech-GSK Student Excellence Award for her research into breastmilk stem cells (Oct.17, 2011), Medela is proud to announce Hassiotou's first presentation of her findings of stem cells in breastmilk inEurope early next year. She will share her findings during Medela's 7th International Breastfeeding and Lactation Symposium to be held in Vienna, Austria from April 20-21, 2012.

This discovery by Hassiotou, who is part of the Human Lactation Research Group under the direction of Professor Peter Hartmann at the University of Western Australia, may well be the answer to ethically and easily obtaining stem cells in a non-invasive manner. The value in harvesting stem cells from breastmilk lies in their incredible potential to develop into many different cell types in the body during early life and growth. They have the ability to act as a type of "internal repair system." With both types of stem cells (embryonic and adult), however, well-documented hurdles exist both from an ethical as well as from a practical harvesting perspective.

Medela has been working with the Hartmann Human Lactation Research Group since the mid-1990s resulting in numerous scientific breakthroughs including overturning a 160-year old anatomical model of the lactating human breast, and a unique insight into the sucking, swallowing and breathing mechanism that babies must master to feed properly. The Group has been working on the subject of stem cells for over five years.