Badminton player Jwala Gutta donates breast milk to govt hospital to save babies: Who can be donor mothers, what are rules?

Breast milk is required for pre-term, low birthweight, orphaned babies or those whose mothers cannot produce enough milk. These can be stored at milk banks where donor mothers (those who produce milk in excess of the requirement of their own babies) express and store their milk for their own babies or even pasteurise it to be donated to sick babies whose mothers are either sick themselves, unable to produce milk or are deceased. Delhi has had three government milk banks since 2017, at Lady Hardinge Medical College, AIIMS and now Safdarjung Hospital’s paediatric department.

According to Dr Sushma Nangia, director, professor and head at the Department of Neonatology, Lady Hardinge Medical College, “All mothers undergo an extensive screening method before becoming eligible for donating their breast milk.”

What are guidelines for breast milk donation?

According to Human Milk Banking Guidelines, when a mother, for some reason, is unable to feed her infant directly, her breast milk should be expressed and fed to the infant. If the mother’s own milk is unavailable or insufficient, the next best option is to use pasteurized donor human milk (PDHM).

The donor population is formed by healthy lactating mothers with healthy babies, who are voluntarily willing to give their extra breast milk for other babies without compromising the nutritional needs of their own. The donors can include mothers attending baby clinics, mothers whose babies are in neonatal intensive care units, those who have lost their babies but are willing to donate their milk, or lactating working staff in the hospital and motivated mothers from the community. Donors are not paid. Donation should be voluntary and not commercialised.

Which babies need donor breast milk?

Pre-term and low birth weight babies need breastmilk, which can significantly reduce their risk of infections immediately after birth. Some women cannot produce enough milk immediately after birth or are sick and unable to feed their babies. In such cases, donated breast milk can be given to their new-borns.

How is breast milk stored?

Breast milk is pasteurised and stored in a deep freezer at -20°C, with a digital display of the temperature inside it and an alarm setting. It is desirable to have two deep freezers for processed milk. The first is for the storage of milk till the post-pasteurisation milk culture reports are available. This freezer should be locked at all times with access only to the technician, so that no milk is accidentally used till the culture reports are available. The second deep freezer is used for storage of the pasteurized milk once the culture reports are negative and the milk is considered safe for use. Milk is donated only when there is a requirement from the neonatal intensive care unit.

Who cannot donate milk?

Women who use illegal drugs, tobacco products or nicotine replacement therapy or regularly take more than two ounces of alcohol or its equivalent or three caffeinated drinks per day cannot donate breast milk. Organ transplant and blood transfusion recipients cannot qualify too.

All donors undergo a screening process where they are tested for HIV, hepatitis A, B and C, sexually transmitted diseases, syphilis and behavioural issues. Both receiver and donor mothers have to give their consent in writing.