Katie's Long-Distance Donor Story

Wednesday, 3/21/2018

Mothers’ Milk Bank of North Texas reaches beyond the borders of the Lone Star State. Although the milk bank is located in the North Texas city of Fort Worth, hospitals as far west as Lubbock, Texas, and as far east as Georgia provide donor milk from MMBNT to the fragile infants in their care. Milk donors come from near and far as well.

Katie was a long-distance donor in 2016 and 2017, going the extra mile to send her milk all the way from Canton, Georgia. When it came to excess milk, Katie had plenty. She is a mom to two sons, Joshua and Jacob, and had an oversupply of milk with both. She did not know about milk donation the first time around, and was upset when she had to discard her remaining freezer stash after Joshua weaned.

“I had to ask my husband to do it - I couldn’t bear to do it myself,” Katie said. “It was so hard and seemed like such a waste!”

With Jacob, she produced in excess of his needs as soon as he was born. Katie was determined to put her extra milk to good use this time. She found MMBNT while searching online for donation opportunities and after some research, she knew it was the right fit for her.

“I felt comfortable with their procedures and uses of the milk, and knew it was where I wanted my excess milk to go,” she said.

As a long-distance donor, Katie’s experience included a few extra steps to ensure her milk stayed safe and frozen in transit. When she had enough milk ready to fill a cooler, she called the donor coordinators at MMBNT, who mailed her overnight shipping materials, including a Styrofoam cooler and ice packs. She would pack her shipment and call FedEx, who picked it up straight from her door.

“It could not possibly have been easier,” Katie said. “I was so grateful for how easy the process was.”

Today, Katie continues to spread the word about MMBNT to friends who have more breastmilk than their babies need. It’s one way she can stay involved with a mission that’s close to her heart.

“I was so fortunate that both of my boys were full term and healthy - so many parents don’t have that luxury,” she said. “There’s not much a stranger can do to help those babies and their parents, but donating my extra milk meant that another baby had a better chance.”

To learn more about milk donation and how to become a donor, click here.