Helping Haiti Babies

When watching the news on the destruction in Haiti I feel a number of different things. One of which is anger at the people who are looting and acting like animals. Then I see all the children though and my heart softens. Those children did not ask to be born in such a impoverished country and are now suffering through the aftermath of such a huge earthquake.  It could have easily been me who had been born there, but God was gracious enough to allow me to be raised in America and by good parents. I felt helpless watching the news because it's not like Matt and I are in a situation that would allow us to donate money. But there is something else I can donate that there is a HUGE need for. Milk. For all the babies there who are now motherless. I know a lot of you who read this blog have new babies or are expecting so I thought I would let you know the milk donation process if any of you feel so inclined to donate as well. 

The Haiti Emergency Relief Milk Program is ran by Human Milk Bank Association of North America. They are currently working on getting a system set up to get milk to Haiti. Right now they are asking that donors go to www.hmbana.org or call 1-866-998-4550 to build up the supply in the U.S. so that when they are ready to ship to Haiti, there will be an adequate amount of milk to meet the needs of the children there. 

The minimum to donate is 100 ounces. You can donate frozen milk as far back as 5 months ago. If you check out the hmbana website you can find a center near you to donate. In my case the nearest one is in San Jose which is about five hours away, but if you contact them they will mail you containers, and pay for shipping to send the donations back.  

Why use donor milk?

In the absence of the infant's own mother's milk, donor milk offers many of the benefits of human milk for the infant, including:

• optimal nutrition
• easy digestibility
• immunologic protection against many organisms and diseases

Human milk also contains growth factors that can:

• protect immature tissue
• promote maturation, particularly in the gastrointestinal tract
• promote healing of tissue damaged by infection.

Common reasons for prescribing donor milk include:

• Prematurity
• Allergies
• Feeding/formula intolerance
• Immunologic deficiencies
• Post-operative nutrition
• Infectious diseases
• Inborn errors of metabolism

The whole process is pretty interesting . You can see below what they do with milk once they get it. Whatever is not shipped to Haiti will then be used for babies in hospitals throughout the U.S. 

Processing

			Scrubbing
			Each pasteurization team member thoroughly scrubs her hands with antimicrobial soap before putting on gloves; gloves are always used when handling milk as part of the pasteurization process.

---

	Pouring
	Milk from a donor mother is carefully transferred from milk storage containers to glass flasks.

---

			Mixing & Pooling
			Each Pool (which usually includes milk from 3 to 5 donors) is thoroughly mixed to ensure an even distribution of milk components.

---

	Filling Bottles
	Four ounce glass bottles are filled with milk prior to pasteurization

---

			Pasteurizing with the Holder Method
			Milk is gently heated in a shaking water bath using the Holder Method of pasteurization. Pasteurization eliminates bacteria while retaining the majority of the milk's beneficial components

---

	Lab Testing
	Milk samples are taken during the pasteurization process and cultured to check for bacterial growth. Contaminated milk is discarded.

---

			Pasteurized Milk
			Milk is now ready for freezing and storage. It can be dispensed after samples are cultured and show no bacteria growth.  Milk is shipped frozen overnight to hospitals and individual recipients at home.