BreastMilk Donation Process

Have excess breastmilk and want to donate?
We make the process simple and easy by providing you with support and guidance each step of the way!


1: You HAve EXCESS BREASTMILK

First and most important, before you decide to donate your excess breastmilk, you must make sure that breastfeeding your infant is established. If your baby is fully fed and you still have excess breastmilk, we invite you to apply to donate your excess breastmilk. You can donate newly expressed milk or previously collected frozen milk (up to 10 months from the date of expression) as long as it is clearly marked with month, day and year, and time of expression. You can expect the entire qualification process to take about 4 to 5 weeks. You will receive step-by-step information throughout the process, so you know what to expect each step of the way.


2: ONLINE APPLICATION 

The application includes a Consent (to donate) Agreement and a Medical History Survey with about 80 questions. The questions are very similar to questions you would answer before donating blood and should take about 20 minutes to complete. Once your application is processed, you will receive an email from the milk bank with detailed information on the next steps. You can typically expect to hear back within 5 business days of submitting your application.
 


3: MEDICAL CONFIRMATION FORMS

The breastmilk you donate will be used to create nutritional formulations for critically ill and premature infants. To ensure the quality of the product, we require that our donors have their medical provider and infant’s pediatrician sign a confirmation form ensuring that both mother and baby are healthy and that it is okay for the mother to donate her excess breastmilk.
  Our qualification process includes an online medical questionnaire, forms, and tests


4: Donor Qualification Process

If you are a new donor, we will send you a donor test kit that includes:

  • - A thermometer to measure the temperature of the freezer(s) in which you plan to store your breastmilk
  • - Vials for collecting blood samples
  • - DNA collection swab

We will arrange for a blood screening test by a national laboratory (at no charge to you). You will also be asked to provide a cheek swab to create a DNA identity profile that will be used for matching the DNA in your breastmilk to that profile. This is to ensure we only receive breastmilk from donors who have been screened; an important step for ensuring the safety of the breastmilk that will be used to feed critically ill infants. If you are a returning donor, the donor re-qualification test kit will include vials for a new blood test and may include a thermometer (if you are returning with a new baby).

 

5: LABELING, FILLING, FREEZING AND PACKING BREASTMILK DONATIONS

Prolacta will provide you with breastmilk storage bags and instructions on how to collect, label, and store breastmilk for donation. Once you are qualified, you will receive detailed instructions for packing and shipping your breastmilk to Prolacta.


Once you're qualified you can request supplies
 
 

6: Breastmilk iS RECEIVED AT PROLACTA

See how your breastmilk is received at Prolacta and carefully prepared to ensure safety and retain high levels of important bioactivity for use in making human milk–based nutritional products for critically ill infants.