Subscribedonation of breast milk
Breast Milk Donation Backlash in Haiti
The Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) reportedly has been asked to retract its urgent call for breast milk donations for premature infants in Haiti. The Emergency Nutrition Network (ENN) says the donations contradict best practices for babies in emergencies and the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) said the donations create an “unfeasible and unsafe intervention” due to problems of transportation, screening, supply and storage, according to the MSNBC article “Call for Donations of Breast Milk… More »
Update re Breast Milk Donations for Haiti
The decision to make an urgent call for breast milk donations in the wake of the earthquake disaster in Haiti is controversial in the breastfeeding activist community. I think everyone can agree that donations of artificial baby milk are not helpful and that everything possible should be done to promote breastfeeding by mothers in Haiti. Breastfeeding is the long-term, life-saving method of infant feeding in a disaster.
Some, however, argue that at best the donations of breast milk are symbolic… More »
Call for Human Milk Donations for Haiti
In a joint press release issued today, several breastfeeding organizations are putting out an urgent call for human milk donations to meet the desperate need of premature infants in Haiti as well as sick and premature infants in the United States:
URGENT CALL FOR HUMAN MILK DONATIONS FOR HAITI INFANTS
The Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA), United States Breastfeeding Committee (USBC), International Lactation Consultant Association/United States Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA/USLCA), and La Leche League International (LLLI) are jointly issuing… More »
Urgent Need for Donor Breast Milk
The non-profit milk banks of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) are always looking for breast milk donors, but with the recent holidays the need for donor milk is particularly urgent right now.
Do You Qualify to Donate Your Breast Milk?
Breast milk donors are carefully screened and must meet a certain set of requirements. As a starting point, HMBANA requires that donor mothers must be:
In good general health
Willing to undergo a blood test (at the milk bank’s expense)
Not… More »
Informal Breast Milk Sharing or Donation
Some women end up with a bountiful stash of frozen breast milk — be it from oversupply, a baby in the NICU, or an infant who turns out to be allergic to something in the milk pumped so far. Some of those women are moved to donate the excess milk to a non-profit milk bank. In the past few days, I have heard two women express (no pun intended) frustration at the restrictions posted on women who wish to qualify… More »
Your Votes Helped the Milk Bank Win $10,000!!!
When I got an email informing me that there was a ceremony this evening to name the Mothers’ Milk Bank of New England as the official winner of the Ideablob $10,000 giveaway, I almost didn’t believe it! I ran right over to the Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog and sure enough, there was the announcement, explaining that the top vote getter had been disqualified and the milk bank had won! Huge congratulations to Tanya and all those working hard to start up… More »
Milk Bank Progresses to Finals: Vote Again for the Win!
Jennifer and Tanya report that the Mothers’ Milk Bank of New England received enough votes in the IdeaBlob semi-finals to make it to the final round! The Milk Bank is one of eight finalists competing for the $10,000 prize, so your vote is needed in this final round. Vote now! … More »
Your Vote Online Could Help the Mothers’ Milk Bank of New England
All it takes is a few moments of your time to vote for the funding proposal for the Mothers’ Milk Bank of New England on IdeaBlob. If enough people vote (and it only took 600 votes for last month’s winner), the fledgling milk bank receives $10,000 that will be used to buy processing and storage equipment, establish a “Milk Money” fund to help families whose insurance does not cover the processing fees for donor milk, and develop marketing materials for… More »
Human Milk Banking Conference
Lactation and health professionals might be interested in the second annual conference sponsored by the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA). This year the conference takes place at the luxurious Doral Tesoro Hotel and Golf Club in Fort Worth, Texas on November 8 and 9, 2007. Early bird registration ends September 14, 2007 and on-line registration ends October 24, 2007. For further details, visit the HMBANA Conference 2007 page.
If you won’t be attending the conference but are interested… More »
Should You Support the International Breast Milk Project?
The International Breast Milk Project (IBMP) sounded so noble and noteworthy. Mother Jill Youse had extra breast milk stashed in the freezer and decided to pair with Prolacta Bioscience to ship donated breast milk to an orphanage in South Africa where the milk would be given to babies orphaned by AIDS.
Since the initial splash of positive publicity, however, the project has come under fire for questionable practices. Sure it’s nice that Prolacta processes and ships some breast milk donations… More »
eBay Breast Milk Seller Leaves a Comment
When I wrote about On-Line Auctions of Human Breast Milk, my inquiry to eBay resulted in the removal of one listing of breast milk for sale. eBay clarified that the sale of breast milk is not permitted but it never added breast milk to the prohibited “Human Parts and Remains” (which included blood and semen).
The other day the seller whose listing was removed left a comment on one of my posts. She offered some insight into eBay policies and… More »
Breasfeeding Blogger Receives Apology and Benefits Mothers’ Milk Bank
Jennifer at The Lactivist must be happier than a pig in mud today after she received an apology from the National Pork Board (remember this controversy?) Her viral marketing campaign spread faster than swine flu. You’ve never seen so many bloggers hamming it up and porking out on pig jokes. Jennifer lists some of the best entries in her update here. I guess this means I can keep wearing my shirt!
The best news of all is that the t-shirt sales… More »
Poll Results: On-Line Sales of Breast Milk
In the most controversial poll yet, I asked “Should On-Line Sales of Breast Milk Be Permitted?”
The results turned out to be quite divided when I aggregated all of the “yes” and “no” votes:
The complete results are as follows:
Sure, I’d buy the milk if I needed it: 2% of votes
Yes, it’s a matter of buyer-beware: 15%
Yes, if the milk has been tested and pasteurized: 8%
Yes, if the buyer plans to test and pasteurize the milk: 2%
Yes, if there is a site… More »
Last Day to Benefit Mothers’ Milk Bank of Ohio
My Lactivist t-shirt arrived the other day! Sorry Jennifer, I’m not the greatest model for your fabulously funny shirts, but I thought I’d show off my new shirt as a way to remind people that today is the last day that 100% of profits from t-shirt sales from the Lactivist CafePress store will be donated to the Mothers’ Milk Bank of Ohio. As I discussed yesterday in the article MilkShare Site for Informal Milk Donation, it’s important to support… More »
MilkShare Site for Informal Breast Milk Donation
I wrote a three part series on breast milk sales on eBay over the last few days (On-Line Auctions of Human Breast Milk; Update; eBay Responds).
In the poll many people voiced the opinion that nonprofit milk banks are the only proper and safe way to facilitate exchanges of expressed breast milk. However, the fact remains that many women are not quite so altruistic and are seeking to sell their milk on-line.
In the course of investigating on-line sources of… More »
eBay Responds about Breast Milk Auctions
Remember my screenshot of the eBay ad touting a “huge selection” of “breast milk”? I wrote to eBay last Thursday to ask whether it permits the sale of breast milk. On Friday the one open listing for human breast milk was removed from eBay. Later the one completed listing was removed as well. Today I received eBay’s response to my email.
First, my email:
I have a question about prohibited items. Can human breast milk be offered for sale? I saw under… More »
Update on On-Line Sales of Breast Milk
No reply from eBay yet on this post. Breast milk has not been added to the group of prohibited and restricted items but the one open listing for human breast milk has been removed. Even though I did not directly alert eBay to that listing, I feel a slight twinge of guilt about my question leading to its removal. The seller is probably a very nice breastfeeding mother who simply had some extra milk. I hope she knows about… More »
On-line Sales of Breast Milk: A Poll
While we wait to hear an answer from eBay about whether it permits the sale of human breast milk, let’s do a poll:
To see all prior poll results, click here…. More »
On-Line Auctions of Human Breast Milk
Shortly after I wrote about the dangers of casual milk sharing and breast milk sales over the internet, I came across this internet advertisement:
Ever curious, I went to eBay and entered a search for “breast milk.” The search revealed over 100 items for sale, the vast majority of which were breast pumps, breast milk storage bags and bottles, and teas, drugs and herbal remedies to increase milk supply. Sure enough though, there was one item of “human breast milk” for… More »
International Breast Milk Project Fundraiser
If your New Year’s Resolution involved exercise, promoting breastfeeding or being more charitable (or maybe even all three) then I have I got an idea for you! I learned from Tanya at the Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog that the International Breast Milk Project (IBMP) is holding a fundraiser on February 10, 2007. You might remember that the IBMP sends donated breast milk to babies orphaned by HIV/AIDS in South Africa.
A portion of the funds raised from a charity run/walk–a 2.6-mile… More »
