We get many questions from mothers who either have extra milk to share or donate, or who are feeding their infants with donor human milk. This is a complex issue! You can either be a donor or a recipient, and the milk can be screened, pooled with others’ milk, pasteurized and used in a hospital setting, or it can be shared between family members or even strangers (casual milk-sharing). Here is a brief overview of how KINDNESS advises mothers on the use of donor milk.

The KINDNESS Project does not share names of participants looking to donate or receive donor milk. Although human milk is almost always the best nutrition for infants, we have no official position on casual milk sharing, and we encourage you to think carefully through all of the risks and benefits before using unscreened, unpasteurized human milk. Under any circumstances, is it absolutely unethical to exchange money or services for human milk. 

If you have milk to donate, you can donate officially through Human Milk Banking Association of North America. Your milk would be screened and pasteurized, and pooled with other donors for distribution to NICUs for premature babies. In Kodiak, you could share your milk locally through a casual network, in which case your milk is not screened or pasteurized. Consider word-of-mouth or social media postings if you wish to donate milk. Be willing to answer questions on your personal health, lifestyle and milk collection techniques from potential recipients.

If you are looking for donor milk, you can check for posts on social media, or ask women you trust who are currently nursing. Some of the questions you should consider asking the donor mother include:

• her HIV status (every pregnant woman is screened, and the donor can ask her clinic for a copy of her HIV status)
• her use of alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs
• if she consumes dairy products (which can be an issue for a small number of babies)
• her milk collection procedures
• how old is the milk (should be <6-9 months in a deep freezer)

Further information on donating and sharing milk can be found at this kellymom post on human milk banking and other donor milk.

DISCLAIMER: We know when you surf the web for information, you can get conflicting results, and it’s not easy to know whether you are finding evidence-based, high quality recommendations. That’s part of our job here at Kodiak KINDNESS; we are here to support your informed decisions about infant feeding through your baby’s first year. We’ve done some background work, and to the best of our knowledge, this post reflects current best practices. However, the information contained in this post and any links contained herein is for your informational use only; it is not a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Furthermore, Kodiak KINDNESS is not responsible for the accuracy of any information contained in this post or links contained herein; it is for you to review at your own risk and discuss, as needed, with your health care professional in order to make a plan that suits your individual circumstances.