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Donating breastmilk

elisetaylor09elisetaylor09 member
in Breastfeeding
I have an oversupply in that I am pumping about 5oz more each day than I need which is starting to add up. The thought of throwing it out makes me sick since I know someone might be able to use it. Any suggestions on where/how to donate? I've already called my OB and they haven't called me back with any suggestions yet.
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Re: Donating breastmilk

  • vvvvvfeevvvvvfee member
    an informal milk-sharing network is human milk 4 human babies: https://hm4hb.net/

    they have facebook community pages for different areas where people can post offering milk or asking for milk. then you arrange to meet the person for drop-off.

    how old is your LO? you might want to wait a little while before donating... you may have extra now, but when your LO is older and/or you cut back on your number of pumping sessions per day, it may be nice to have that cushion in the freezer. also, if you are consistently pumping that much extra, you might want to consider cutting back on the number of times per day you pump or the length of pumping sessions.
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  • elisetaylor09elisetaylor09 member
    My LO is 4 months
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  • nebraska84nebraska84 member
    Goggle milk banks in your area, and you may find one. I live in Western WA and I am able to donate my milk to the local hospital and they ship the milk to Portland OR. You can also just call your local hospital to see if they take milk. It was a super easy progress to become cleared to donate.

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  • vvvvvfeevvvvvfee member
    personally, i'd wait a month or so before deciding to donate, but it's your decision of course.

    remember that you can keep your milk frozen for up to 6 months (up to 12 months if it's in a separate chest freezer).
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  • amichelle723amichelle723 member
    Does the hospital you delivered at have a lactation center? I called them at my hospital and they were able to direct me to a local milk bank.

    There is usually a minimum donation for milk banks, I've seen 100-200oz so that may be a factor as well if you are just now starting to build up an excess. As PP mentioned, you may wait and see. I waited until I had a large amount about to expire and donated then because I wanted to make sure I didn't need it.
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  • elisetaylor09elisetaylor09 member
    I have close to 100oz now and I know I won't use all of it. I'll call the hospital in the am thanks for the suggestions
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  • surpriseadditionsurpriseaddition member
    I wouldn't count on not needing those ounces.  I had over 200 oz. frozen when I went back to work when my LO was 6 months old.  I barely made it to the one year mark (even having to give one bottle of WCM the Mon & Tues before she turned 1 on Wed) because my freezer stash was gone.  Many women experience a drop in pump output around 8-9 months.  I agree with PP and waiting until the milk is closer to expiring (at least 4 months old or so) before I would look to get rid of anything.  I had also considered donating, but waited to see what happened and was really glad I could still give BM to my own baby when I really needed it for her.  Things can change.  If you are a SAHM that would be different...but if you work and pump I'd hold onto it.


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