Mothers Milk Donation Site

The Salt Lake Clinic OB/GYN department is now an official collection site for mothers milk. Intermountain Healthcare is collaborating with non-profit organizations, Mountain West Mothers Milk Bank and Rocky Mountain Children's Health Foundation, to accept milk donations and provide blood testing for mothers who wish to donate their excess breast milk.

 

Mothers who are interested in donating can contact the OB/GYN department at 385-282-2800 and speak with Veronica Myers, the Mothers Milk Donation Coordinator, for additional details. Donations will be received on Tuesdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Women that would like to donate must complete a telephone prescreening and blood test before their milk can be received. The Salt Lake Clinic will provide the blood test as a free service to those who would like to donate. Milk that was previously pumped and stored (frozen) may be accepted if it is less than eight months old.

 

A mother's milk is the best food for all babies. Babies born premature, or who are medically fragile, that receive donated breast milk often do better and are released from the hospital sooner. This 'liquid gold', as some call it, is vital for these babies to grow and survive.

 

Milk donation may be new to some, but banking breast milk has been around since the 1970's and hospitals in Utah have been using donated milk in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) since the early 2000's. The mothers own milk is always preferred but the next best option is pasteurized donor human milk.