Human Milk Banking in North America - Screening Donors

Screening Donors

Milk donors are new mothers who are in good health, whose infants are growing, thriving, and under six months old when they begin (Arnold, 1997). Because there is some risk of passing infections and viruses to babies through breast milk, donors must undergo a medical screening and a blood test to rule out infectious diseases such as HIV-1 and-2, hepatitis B and C and syphilis (Arnold, 1997). After administering a verbal or written questionnaire, healthcare providers for the mother and her baby must sign statements confirming that both are in good health.

The mother must not smoke or regularly use any medications, herbs, or megavitamins. If she or her baby has a common cold, she should not express milk for donation until they have recovered. If she consumes alcohol, she must wait out an "exclusion period" of twelve hours before expressing milk for donation. For a premature or medically fragile recipient baby, even a tiny amount of alcohol, medications, or herbs in the milk may be problematic.