2016 in Review

Tuesday, 1/3/2017

Mothers’ Milk Bank of North Texas experienced another great year of helping babies in need in 2016. Once again, the number of ounces dispensed increased from the previous year, meaning infants received more MMBNT donor milk than ever before.

In 2016, donor coordinators approved 757 milk donors. These moms learned about milk donation on social media, at hospitals, from their friends and in many other ways. Outreach to potential donors is important, as mothers are only breastfeeding for a limited time and new donors are always needed. MMBNT has a strong online presence, including the website and Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts, to connect with donors and potential donors in ways that are convenient for them. Additionally, hospitals, doctors’ offices, clinics and depots distribute new mom packets to inform potential donors of milk donation.

We dispensed 564,055 ounces of donor human milk in 2016. That’s more than 11,000 more ounces than in 2015, continuing the trend of increasing dispensation every year. Eighty percent of our donor milk was dispensed by physician prescription in 131 hospital NICUs, while 20 percent was prescribed to medically fragile babies at home. For the babies we serve, donor milk can be lifesaving. It is the standard of care for premature infants with severe feeding problems, intestinal malformations and life-threatening complications such as necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).

Additionally, we added 6 new depots in 2016. These include several added in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and even one in Georgia. These locations make milk donation convenient for donor moms who don’t live near the MMBNT office. Moms can drop off their donations to their local depots, which safely store the milk in a designated freezer until it is picked up or sent to MMBNT.

We’re thankful for a successful 2016, and are looking forward to helping even more babies in 2017!

For more information about Mothers’ Milk Bank of North Texas, click here.