The DNA matching step is necessary so that the milk we receive is matched to our qualified donors. This safety step ensures that only milk from qualified moms is accepted for production.
We start by having the prospective donor provide a sample of cheek cells that we can use to create a unique Donor ID. We extract the DNA from the cheek cells and use it to create a series of 32 numbers that are unique to that donor. Only identical twins share the same profile. Two of the numbers in the profile tell us whether the DNA comes from a man or a woman.
Once the donors milk arrives, we take a sample of the DNA found in the milk and generate a Milk ID. We then look to make sure that the Donor ID and Milk ID profiles match. We can also see if there are multiple Milk ID profiles in the same donation, indicating there are two or more different mothers’ milk is contained in the donation.
The only information that we generate about the donor from her DNA are the Donor and Milk IDs. We do not generate any other genetic information about the donor. The Donor ID contains no information about the donor’s health or heredity. Prolacta does not retain samples of the donor’s isolated DNA once the matching of donor to donation is complete. The only thing that is retained is the 32 number Donor ID.
While there are other ways to match a donor to a tissue sample, this technique is considered the most accurate and is the gold standard.