Mothers' Milk Bank At Austin

The Mothers' Milk Bank at Austin is a non-profit organization whose mission is to accept, pasteurize and dispense donor human milk by physician prescription primarily to premature and ill infants.

Description:
When it comes to premature and seriously ill babies, nothing is better for their immature and fragile bodies than mom's own milk. But when mom's own milk is not available, milk given generously by screened donor mothers is the next best alternative.

These babies are at a greater risk for intestinal infections. Human milk contains antibodies to fight disease and infection and also protects against allergies. It contains growth hormones to help babies develop and properties that have been shown to increase intelligence and decrease the risks of obesity and diabetes later in life.

Donating milk is truly a gift of life. Four easy steps is all it takes to donate for healthy, breastfeeding moms. Potential donors first complete a 10 minute phone screening. Then, they complete a full health history, submit to a blood test (testing for diseases such as HIV, HTLV, Hepatitis) and drop off their initial milk donation. Once we receive the milk it is pooled, poured, pasteurized and then tested before being shipped out to babies in Texas and the United States.

History:
In early 1998, two Austin neonatologists, Sonny Rivera, MD and George Sharpe, MD, began inviting other health care providers to discuss the formation of a mothers’ milk bank to serve the Central Texas region. Drs. Sharpe and Rivera described the way tiny premature infants and ill babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) they supervised fared better on human milk. Citing references in the medical literature that documented better health outcomes and lower care costs for infants receiving mothers’ milk, and noting that the nearest operating milk bank was in Denver, the two physicians obtained support from their hospitals and colleagues to go ahead with the project. An advisory board was created and a name was chosen: The Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin.

Contact person: Kim Updegrove, (512) 494-0800, (email)

Office fax number: (512) 494-0880

Address:

900 E. 30th St., Ste 214 Austin, TX 78705 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.milkbank.org

Directions:

We are located in the Park St. David's building next to St. David's Hospital. For maps or information, please see http://www.capmetro.org/riding/trip_info.asp

Last updated on October 30, 2009