WakeMed Mothers' Milk Bank
 The WakeMed Mothers' Milk Bank was established in June 1992 with a grant from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust. It is one of only nine milk banks in the United States, with nearly 100,000 ounces of human donor milk being pasteurized for use at WakeMed or shipped to all parts of the country on an annual basis. We collect, screen, pasteurize and distribute donated human milk to meet the special medical needs of babies and others who need human donor milk. Our facility operates under the guidelines of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America.
Why is donor milk used?
Some mothers are unable to produce their own breast milk (or don't produce enough), yet believe in the health benefits of human milk consumption. In the absence of an infant's own mother's milk, donor milk offers the baby optimal nutrition, easy digestion, immunologic protection against many organisms and diseases, and infection-fighting components such as immunoglobulin, which can help in the recovery process of seriously ill infants. Human milk also contains growth factors that can protect immature tissue, promote maturation (particularly in the gastrointestinal tract), and promote healing of tissue damaged by infection.
There are many common reasons that a child may need donor milk:
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prematurity
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allergies
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feeding/formula intolerance
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immunologic deficiencies
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post-operative nutrition
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treatment of some infectious diseases
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treatment of inborn errors of the child's metabolism
To read comments from WakeMed Mothers' Milk Bank donors and recipients, click here.
How does a donor milk bank operate?
The WakeMed Mothers' Milk Bank screens potential donors - very similar to the way blood banks screen donors. Donors must be non-smokers and must not drink alcohol within 12 hours of pumping milk for the Milk Bank. There are also restrictions on the consumption of medications. Click here for preliminary screening questions.
Milk is transported to the WakeMed Mothers' Milk Bank in a frozen state. After it thaws, the milk is pooled and heat-treated to kill any bacteria or viruses. We process the product in canning jars and refreeze it for storage. It is dispensed only after a sample is cultured and shows no sign of bacterial growth. The milk is then frozen and shipped overnight-express to hospitals and to recipients' homes.
How do I obtain donor milk?
 How can a mother become a donor?
Milk is donated to the WakeMed Mothers' Milk Bank, and donors are never paid. However, the Mothers' Milk Bank assumes all costs for blood testing and supplies containers to store milk.
Most donor mothers find they can begin pumping extra milk (typically four ounces each day) to donate once their own children are a few weeks old and are regularly gaining weight. Donors store the milk in their home freezer, then deliver the milk to our facility. We ask our out-of-town donors who overnight-express milk to send the product in batches of at least 200 to 300 ounce increments to help keep down shipping costs. For more extensive shipping information, click here.
We are currently accepting new donors, dairy free donors, and premature donors. If you are interested in becoming a milk donor or wish to obtain milk, please contact the WakeMed Mothers' Milk Bank at 919-350-8599. You may also email a program coordinator at suevans@wakemed.org or bmoore@wakemed.org. For more information about human milk donation, please visit www.hmbana.com.
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