History

History of Human Milk Banking

Human milk banking began at the turn of the 20th Century as the process of milk pasteurization became available and the use of wet nurses was no longer practical. The first human milk bank was founded in Germany in 1919. Many others followed worldwide, necessitating the establishment of formal guidelines. In 1985, the Human Milk Banking Association of North America opened to:

• Establish uniform policies
• Facilitate communication between milk banks
• Provide professional and public education

Currently, there are several human milk banks throughout the world with seven in the United States, including Mothers' Milk Bank of North Texas (MMBNT).

Milk Processing Method:

A “pool” of milk is selected from three or more donors, to assure a homogenous fat content and greater variety of immune factors. Frozen donor milk is slow-thawed, pooled, aliquoted into 3 ounces glass bottles, then pasteurized at 62.5 C for 30 minutes in a shaking water bath. A random sample is removed and sent to the lab for a culture. Pasteurized milk is quick-cooled in an ice slurry, and then frozen at –20 C. Milk is dispensed if the culture results show no bacterial growth for 48 hours. Milk is marked with an expiration date 12 months after the earliest expression of milk in the pool. Milk is handled using “clean” technique prior to pasteurization, then pasteurized bottles are not opened until the recipient’s feeding is being prepared.

Pre-term and mature milk are pasteurized in separate batches, and pre-term milk is dispensed only for premature babies. If a woman delivers at <36 weeks gestation, her milk is labeled as pre-term for the first four weeks of milk expression or until she would have reached 36 weeks of pregnancy, whichever comes first.