Newest Breastmilk Donation Site Opens in Midland
Tuesday, 5/22/2018
Midland Memorial Hospital is the newest breastmilk collection site for Mothers’ Milk Bank of North Texas (MMBNT), making it easier for moms in the Permian Basin to donate to babies in need.
Mothers who want to donate their excess breastmilk can drop off their donations in the hospital’s nursery, located at 400 Rosalind Redfern Grover Parkway. Staff will securely store the milk before sending it to MMBNT in Fort Worth for pasteurization and shipment to critically ill infants. Donations are accepted Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“Since opening our NICU, we have seen firsthand the need for donor breastmilk,” Lorie Prieto, lactation specialist, said. “Our hope in opening the depot is to give the community a place that is accessible to contribute their breastmilk for those infants who need it.”
MMBNT collects donor human milk from more than 40 donation sites, or depots, throughout North Texas and surrounding states. Midland Memorial Hospital is the only depot in the Midland-Odessa area.
Milk bank staff screen all potential milk donors through medical histories and blood tests. Once approved, donors freeze the extra milk their own babies don’t need and take it to a depot close to home.
When milk arrives at MMBNT, staff log it into a computer barcode and tracking system. It then undergoes processing, which includes thawing, nutritional analysis, pasteurization and bacterial testing.
Donor human milk is the standard of care for premature infants without access to mother’s own milk who have severe feeding problems, intestinal malformations and life-threatening complications such as necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Eighty percent of MMBNT’s donor milk serves babies in hospital NICUs, while 20 percent serves medically needy babies at home.
Those who are interested in becoming donors can start the process by calling MMBNT at (817) 810-0071. To speak to someone at the Midland Memorial Hospital depot, call (432) 221-2160.
For a full list of MMBNT’s depots, click here.
