We have our first donor story! Thank you to Chelsea V., both for donating a precious resource and for sharing your story with us.
“Donating milk has been such a great reward for me as well all of the babies who receive it. I am grateful that breastfeeding has gone so well for myself and my daughter and that I am able to share it! It was pretty obvious to me soon after her birth that I had more milk than she needed. I was uncomfortable but was pumping and storing this milk in the freezer. Months went by and I never used the milk. I went back to work at four months postpartum and still never used the milk. I couldn’t figure out what I was supposed to do with it! Why was I “stashing” milk? It was the last thing we needed. I somehow heard about milk banks and decided to donate. Some of my family was a little inquisitive. My husband didn’t understand, he thought it was going to be a lot of work and that I would be virtually sitting by my pump every moment of the day. I was going to donate to a certain milk bank until I did even more research and realized that they were a for-profit organization and I just didn’t feel comfortable with my milk going somewhere where they weren’t specific about the final destination of it. I then read about HMBANA and found the closest milk bank to me, Mothers Milk Bank Northeast. I felt wonderful knowing my milk would go to tiny babies in need! The volunteers were great and so nice on the phone. I could tell they were passionate about the cause. Ounces grew in the fridge and I sent off my first shipment. My husband and mother both realized how great this is and how simple it is for me to collect this extra milk. I am very close to my second shipment and will continue to donate until my daughter self-weans. If I have another child, I will donate again. I constantly think about the babies who are receiving human milk and that with each gulp they are growing stronger and healthier. It’s the least I could do and I’m thankful for the opportunity and organizations like MMBNE for working towards something that I hope eventually becomes the norm and something that should be practiced in all hospitals with micro-preemie and ill babies.”– Chelsea V.
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Screening to become a breast milk donor is done through an easy four-step process. Once accepted for donation, milk can be shipped door-to-door or through one of our donor milk depots throughout the Northeast.
