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• FAQ's

How Does One Go About Donating Breastmilk?

Donating breastmilk to Milk Matters is a very simple process. Just follow these simple steps and you will be making a huge difference to a baby in need:

1. Contact Milk Matters for further information and expressing and milk storage instructions
2. Complete a screening form.
3. Collect sterile glass jars provided by Milk Matters
4. Express breastmilk into the sterile jars
5. Label the jars with your name and the date
6. Cool the milk immediately and freeze within 24 hours
7. Deliver frozen breastmilk to Milk Matters depots situated in various areas.

Where this is not possible Milk Matters will arrange to deliver jars and collect the breastmilk from the mother.

The screening form includes questions on general health and an undertaking by the donor mother to provide a written, recent HIV test result to Milk Matters. Long-term donors will be requested to repeat the HIV test.

Frequently Asked Questions regarding donating breastmilk.

Will I have enough milk to donate?

• Most mothers have enough milk to donate as breastmilk is produced on a supply and demand basis. The more often you empty your breasts, the more milk you will produce.
• By expressing extra milk for another baby, you will not deprive your baby in any way. In fact the expressing increases milk production because emptying the breasts often, whether by feeding your baby or expressing your milk, enhances milk production.

How much milk do I need to donate each time?

• That is entirely up to you. Regular small donations of 50ml are just as welcome as donations of larger amounts.
• Once-off donations of frozen breastmilk that you have collected but do not need are most welcome. If you have been expressing for your own premature baby and have more frozen milk than you can use, donating it to Milk Matters would mean that another baby would benefit.

Must I express milk for donation every day?

• How often you express milk to donate is up to you.
• Some donors find it best to express at a particular time each day, others after each or some feeds, others on alternate days and yet others whenever they can manage it.

What containers can I use?

• Sterile glass jars with screw top lids are ideal and available from Milk Matters.
• Glass jars are safe to freeze as long as sufficient room is left for the milk to expand when it freezes.
• Hard plastic sterilised containers with lids are acceptable.
• Please do not use ice cube trays or plastic bags.
• We are unable to guarantee that your containers will be returned.
• Containers need not be full but a new container must be used each time you express.
• Always leave plenty of headspace to allow room for expansion on freezing.

How do I clean and sterilise the containers?

• The containers that you receive from our depots are sterile.
• Should you need to sterilise your own containers:
  • wash the jars and lids in hot soapy water and rinse well
  • submerge each item completely in water in a saucepan and boil for 10 minutes
  • once the jars have cooled sufficiently, empty and shake out the excess water, then firmly close each container
  • sterilising solutions are not recommended.

How do I express breastmilk?

• Express by hand or pump, washing your hands well beforehand.
• Ensure that the pump and container are washed and sterilised according to the manufacturer's instructions.
• We prefer boiling or steam sterilising but do recognise that not all pumps can withstand such high temperatures and that you may need to use a cold sterilising solution.
• Please avoid using bulb-and-funnel pumps as they are extremely difficult to wash and sterilise.

How do I store breastmilk?

• Please label the jars with the date and your name or donor number once we supply you with one.
• Masking tape is ideal for labelling the jars, but any removable sticker is fine. Please avoid writing on the jars or lids as we reuse them.
• Cool the milk at the back of the fridge before freezing within 24 hours.
• Use another clean, sterile container the next time you express.
• Frozen breastmilk may be kept in the fridge freezer for up to 3 months or in a chest freezer for 6 months.

How do I get my donated milk to the milk bank?

• Transport it in a coolbox with ice bricks to your nearest depot.
• For details of your nearest depot, or to discuss alternative arrangements should it not be possible for you to go to a depot, please contact Milk Matters.
• Please ensure that the breastmilk remains frozen at all times.

I know milk changes according to the age of the baby. Does it matter that my baby is older than the premature babies you feed?

• No, not at all. Whilst "premature baby breastmilk" is ideal for the premature babies we supply with donor milk, they still get far more nutrients, immune boosters and antibodies from "older baby breastmilk" than they do from any breastmilk substitute.

My baby is over a year old. Can I still donate breastmilk or is the milk no longer nutritious?

• Yes, you can donate your breastmilk. All breastmilk is nutritious and contains antibodies and the other nutrients babies need.

Is breastmilk still beneficial for babies after it has been pasteurised?

• Yes. Studies show that pasteurising breastmilk kills bacteria and viruses (including HIV) that may be in the milk, yet does not destroy the beneficial properties of breastmilk. It still provides the baby with immunity, vitamins, minerals and the other beneficial components in breastmilk.

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