Donor shortage plagues breast milk bank

Bengaluru: Private hospitals in the city are demanding breast milk at Vani Vilas Hospital's 'Amrutha Dhare', the first state government-run human breast milk bank for newborns. However, due to shortage of donors, only 6 litres of milk is available at the bank.

Breast milk is being collected from mothers who have been giving birth at the hospital and voluntarily who come from outside. 45 litres of milk have been stored in the bank so far. It contains 30 litres of breast milk for 120 babies.

According to the National Family Health Survey, 46 percent of infants under six months old are not being breastfed. In order to overcome this shortage, the Vani Vilas Hospital, run by the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI), has built a mother's breast milk bank at a cost of Rs 1 crore.

The bank was launched in March 2021, becoming the first bank in the state to run a state-run hospital for mothers' breast milk.

Doctors in Vani Vilas Hospital are checking the infants and recommending them to the bank for breast milk. Private hospitals are appealing for breast-fed infants, including infants in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Breast milk is obtained from a healthy mother after necessary testing. More awareness of this is needed. Only well-educated mothers are now coming forward to donate breast milk, said Dr Santosh.

Private hospitals are also demanding. However, it is difficult to meet the demand as some babies in our hospital need it. "The storage capacity is also being expanded," said Dr Mallesh K, head of the hospital's children's division.

The milk stored in the bank is packed and preserved after it is pasteurised. It is brought to normal temperature when giving it to a baby. It can be stored for up to six months. In private breast milk banks, 150ml milk costs Rs 6,500 to Rs 8,000. Here the Breast milk for babies in need is provided free of charge, said Vani Vilas Hospital Doctor.

Breast milk is donated from the center for pre-matured infants, orphans, infants of deceased mothers, infants of sick mother and mothers having insufficient breast milk after birth to feed new baby.