Human breast milk is superior in the nourishment of healthy babies and in the treatment of premature babies and those with special medical conditions. However, when the mother is unable to provide breast milk due to a health condition or during disasters, donor human breast milk is the first alternative. This is why the Philippines has set up human milk banks for the storage and processing of breast milk donated by mothers based on Section 5 of RA 10028 or the Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009. There are a rising number of Human Milk Banks that are being established in the country. Location and contact details of existing milk banks in the Philippines can be found through this link: https://hmb.ph/milkBankLocation.php. Through these institutions, mothers can either donate or request for breast milk in times of disaster or when the mother is unable to produce breast milk. The following are the general guidelines for donating and requesting for breast milk:

How to Donate Breast Milk

Lactating mothers who are interested in donating breast milk can either donate their stored breast milk from home or visit the nearest human milk bank in their area where they will be screened for donor legibility. Mothers may either manually express breast milk or use electrical pumps for comfort. For mothers who decide to express milk at home:

1. Hand expression is the recommended method in case an electric pump is not available. Pump-expressed milk is also accepted.
2. Drip milk collected during or between feedings is also accepted for donation.
3. Use clean, dry containers made of food-grade polypropylene plastic or glass with leak-proof lids. Avoid polycarbonate plastic containers due to the risk of leaching bisphenol A. Bisphenol A or BPA is a chemical used in making plastics and has been shown to interfere with reproductive development in animals and has been linked with cardiovascular disease and diabetes in humans.
4. Do not discard the first 10 mL of expressed breast milk.
5. Fill each milk container ¾ full (or leave 1 inch from the top of the bottle) to allow room for milk expansion when freezing.
6. Expressed milk should be frozen as soon as possible.
7. Refrigerate milk samples at 4 degrees Celsius collected over 24 hours and freeze the batch.
8. Freshly expressed milk can be added to a bottle of already frozen milk as long as they both are within a 24-hour collection.
9. Keep breast milk cool using frozen gel packs in a cooler while transporting to the milk bank.

How to Request for Breast Milk

Recipients who are prioritized by the Philippine milk banks are sick or well premature infants, infants with special medical conditions and those with mothers who have insufficient milk supply, contraindications to breastfeeding or maternal death during labor, accident or disasters. A doctor’s prescription and parent’s consent are needed for the hospital to make arrangements with the human milk banks. Parents may also go to their nearest human milk bank, present the doctor’s prescription, fill request forms and pay a small fee to help sustain milk bank operations. The frozen pasteurized milk is placed in a cooler with a cold pack to maintain its temperature during travel. Once the breast milk is thawed, it must be consumed within 24 hours for food safety.

For more information on donating and requesting human breastmilk, you may visit this website: www.hmb.ph

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References:

Department of Health (2013). The Philippine Human Milk Banking Guidelines.
Millanes, V. (2019). How a human milk bank works. Unicef. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/philippines/stories/how-human-milk-bank-works