Donating breast milk can be traced back to the practice of wet nursing.13 The first record of regulations regarding the sharing of breastmilk are found in the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi (1800 BCE).14 These regulations were motivated by the long-held belief that infants inherit the nurse's traits through their breast milk.15 By the 11th-century European culture considered breastfeeding indecent, which led wet nursing to become common practice among royalty and aristocracy of Europe.16 The practice of wet nursing declined by the 19th century due to concerns regarding unhealthy lifestyles among nurses.17 Consequently, the medical community began researching the effects of alternative nutrition on neonates. Theodor Escherich of the University of Vienna conducted studies from 1902 to 1911 investigating different sources of nutrition and their effect on neonates. His studies demonstrated that breastfed neonate's intestinal bacteria was significantly different compared to neonates fed by other means.18 In 1909, Escherich opened the first human milk bank.19 The following year, another milk bank opened in the Boston Floating Hospital, the first milk bank in the United States.20
The 1960s saw a decline in milk banking because of recent advances in neonatal care and baby formula.21 Despite these new advancements, in 1980 the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund maintained their position that donor breast milk is the best alternative to the mother's breast milk.22 The practice of milk banking declined further with the HIV epidemic. The need for stringent screening increased the cost of operating milk banks, forcing them to close doors.23
Today, however, improved screening methods and standardization of procedure have made donated milk a viable alternative to mother's breast milk. The ability to pasteurize and store breast milk for up to 8 months24 means milk banking could become a global enterprise.
A donor must:
More requirements may apply. For example, the requirements in Australia can be found at: http://jhl.sagepub.com/content/2/1/20.full.pdf. The Australian Red Cross Lifeblood offers a self-diagnostic quiz where donors can check if they are eligible to donate before they register.25
Some concerns that surround human milk bank include:
After the milk has been donated the primary consumer of the milk are premature babies; other consumers include adults with medical complications or conditions. The main reason why premature babies consume donor milk is that the mother cannot provide milk for the baby. The donor milk therefore acts as a substitute.28
Human milk banks offer families a chance to provide their child with reliable and healthy milk from other mothers. Human milk banks are needed as they offer milk which mostly is consumed by children whose mothers are not able to provide them with reliable milk.29
In 2022, lactation consultant and medical doctor Chinny Obinwanne launched Milk Bank Nigeria.3031
Brazil has an extensive network of 217 milk banks, and is considered to have the most cost efficient system of milk banking in the world.32 Since the inception of the first milk bank in 1985, the infant mortality rate in Brazil has dropped 73% due, in part, to the popularization of milk banks. In 2011, 165,000 liters (5,580,000 fl oz) of breast milk were donated by some 166,000 mothers, and provided to nearly 170,000 babies. The Brazilian and Ibero-American Network of Human Milk Banks coordinates these efforts. All donors are screened: in general, they must be healthy and not be taking any medication. The Brazilian system is defined by its inexpensive pasteurization of milk and has spread to other countries such as Spain, Portugal, the Cape Verde Islands, and portions of the rest of Latin America.
There are 223 active human milk banks in 28 countries within Europe, with 14 more planned as of November 2018. Currently, Italy has the most milk banks, at 39, while Georgia, Slovenia, and Turkey have the least, having no milk banks.33
Main article: Human milk banking in North America
The Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) has a "Guidelines for the Establishment and Operation of a Donor Human Milk Bank"34 that establishes exhaustive guidelines for safe milk collection and usage in North America. There are 16 milk banks in North America as of 2014. They collect about 3,000,000 oz per year as of 2013.
South Africa has a breast milk collection and distribution program, Milk Matters, based in Cape Town.35
Singapore launched a three-year pilot donor breast milk bank on Thursday 17 August 2017. It is a collaboration between KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) and Temasek Foundation Cares. The foundation has set aside S$1.37 million (US$1 million) for the milk bank, which will collect, screen, process and store breast milk from donor mothers.36
As of 2020 Australia had at least six human milk banks in operation:
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