There are numerous situations in which it is hard or impossible for parents to give their babies breastmilk—medical or supply problems, high-order multiples, adoption. But with the increasing amount of research about the benefits of breastmilk, a small but growing number of these parents have decided to seek out ways to do it anyway. Since formal milk banks are very expensive, they don't tend to be long-term solutions. But depending on the situation, there are other ways.
After I wrote a bit about the supply shortages and cost associated with formal milk banks, a commenter pointed me to MilkShare. MilkShare is not a milk bank, but it's a network connecting parents who want breastmilk to those who have more than enough and are willing to pump and donate. Basically, it regularly facilitates arrangements like the awe-inspiring outpouring that recently turned up enough breastmilk to keep a two-year-old with severe irritiable bowel syndrome alive.
It primarily costs less because recipients have to do their own legwork of contacting and screening donors, paying for health testing, arranging shipping, etc. (It's illegal to sell bodily fluids, so costs are those involved in shipping, health testing, storage bags for the donor etc., as well as getting a deep-freeze freezer for storage.)
MilkShare, understandably, recommends that those looking for milk hold to the standards of the milk banks when screening donors, but acknowledges obliquely that some parents may not feel the need to do so in every particular. (That seems risky, but before you judge, look at the standards and see if you would meet them all.) On the other hand, I hear through the grapevine that many parents aren't bothering to require testing at all (or are too shy too), which is probably not a good idea.
The payoff for the legwork seems worth it: Some recipients report being able to exclusively feed their infants on breastmilk to the recommend six months and continue providing it beyond, while others use it to supplement during a period of inducing lactation. Given that from a milk bank, breastmilk could cost $3 to 5/ounce, that's an astounding value. And for all the "four-quart does" who were cringing at expressing their "liquid gold" down the sink, there's a huge amount of satisfaction to be gained by sending it somewhere it can make a difference.
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