BC Women's Provincial Milk Bank

Got milk? We need donors to help babies survive & thrive – please contact us!

To donate milk: do not pool your milk; and wash your pump kit well each time you use it. Disinfect your kit at least once a day.

​​Bottles of donor milk

Note: Donors: Once we notify you that you are a completed donor, please call your depot or BC Women's Hospital before going to the depot or hospital.

Milk from a baby’s own mother is always the first choice. When her milk isn’t available, donor milk is the next best thing. Donor milk has active beneficial properties and is similar to mother’s own milk. It provides babies with antibodies to fight disease and infection. Human milk is best for all babies. It is especially important for sick and very tiny babies.

The demand for milk is high and often exceeds supply. New donors are always needed.

About

The BC Women's Provincial Milk Bank, located at BC Women's Hospital in Vancouver, BC, has operated continuously since 1974 and is a founding member of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America.

During our years of operation we have helped thousands of babies and children, screened over 9,000 donors and processed 88,000 litres (3 million ounces) of milk. The need for milk continues to increase so we are always looking for new donors.

We give most donated milk to sick or very tiny babies in neonatal intensive care units. Currently, the Milk Bank ships milk to over 23 hospitals including all 14 neonatal intensive care units in BC. We plan to expand to include all BC hospitals that provide maternity and young child care, to allow equity of access in BC hospitals.

Watch our videos about the Milk Bank.

The BC Women's Provincial Milk Bank is proudly affiliated with the following organizations:

 

The BC Women's Provincial Milk Bank is overseen by the milk bank coordinator, a registered nurse and lactation consultant. Donor screening is completed by nurse/lactation consultants who work in the BC Women's Lactation Service & Provincial Milk Bank. The milk bank clerk is the first contact for perspective donors. They organize, facilitate and manage all of the donor paperwork and files. The processing and physical allocation of milk is done by milk bank technicians who work in the Milk Bank which is on-site at BC Women's Hospital.

For more information, please contact us.

Please note that we do not provide medical advice via e-mail. We strongly recommend that you discuss your health questions and concerns with a qualified health care provider.

 
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Frequently asked questions

Have a question that’s not on the list? Please contact us.

 

The majority of donated milk is used to feed premature and sick babies who are at high risk for illnesses and infections.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a devastating bowel disease, is 10 times more common in premature babies fed formula compared with those babies fed human milk. The majority of mothers whose babies are born premature struggle to establish their milk production and keep it going well enough to meet their baby’s needs. Sometimes the mother is ill as well as her baby or may be on medications that don’t permit her to feed her milk to her baby.

Human milk contains antibodies that fight infection as well as growth hormones which help babies grow and develop. Donating your extra milk is truly a gift that lasts a lifetime!

 


 

Please check donating milk to see if you meet the requirements to donate milk. If you do, please fill in this form (PDF) or call us and leave a message at 604-875-3743. We will call you back as soon as possible. We appreciate your call.

Before attempting to drop off milk to a milk collection depot, you must have completed the screening process. Once you are notified by the Milk Bank that you are a completed donor, call the depot that you plan to use to confirm times and location for drop off. If you plan to courier, please call BC Women’s Hospital Provincial Milk Bank at 604-875-2424, local 7634 to confirm times and courier arrangements, before calling the courier.‎

 

If you live in Greater Vancouver, we can usually make arrangements to get the donor milk to our Bank. If greater distances are involved please contact us. Although we appreciate offers from mothers living in the United States, we cannot accept the milk because we cannot complete the screening process.

 

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide pumps. We do have some milk storage bags. Please check with your depot or the milk bank directly.

 

 

The time it takes to collect milk varies. Some mothers find that if they pump 30 to 60 mls.(1-2 ounces) each day they have enough milk collected within several weeks.

 

 
 

Because of the cost of screening, we screen mothers willing to donate at least 4-5 litres (150 oz) of milk.

 

Human milk is pasteurized to ensure a safe product. Pasteurization maintains most of the anti-infective properties of fresh human milk.

 

 

Donors complete a short verbal and written questionnaire. Their doctor or midwife is consulted and blood tests are done at a local lab. The blood tests include: HIV-1, HIV-2, HTLV-1, HTVV-2, Syphilis, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C.

 


 

If you drink alcohol every day, you cannot donate to the milk bank. If you have an occasional drink, please wait six hours after one drink and 12 hours after more then one drink to express milk for donation.

 

Unfortunately you cannot donate milk while taking Motilium (domperidone). Some medications taken regularly disqualify you as a donor. Check with the Milk Bank if you are taking any medications.

 

 

Use of an asthma inhaler is acceptable for milk donation.

 

‎Please do not pool milk. When a donor pools milk (adds pumped milk to previously pumped milk) the bacterial content in the milk tends to increase. Check with the Milk Bank if you have pooled milk and wish to donate.

 

Donors are healthy mothers who have completed the screening process. They are able to produce more milk than their babies need.

 

 

Processing milk is a multi-step labour-intensive process. The steps include:

  • Donor screening
  • Delivery of milk: receiving, testing, logging & storing unprocessed milk in the freezers
  • Bacteriological screening: sample is sent for testing
  • Preparation for pasteurization: defrosting milk, scrubbing for processing, preparing the pasteurizers and milk
  • Pasteurizing: placing the bottles into the pasteurizer & removing on completion of a cycle
  • Quality control measures: temperature monitoring throughout process, drying, sealing and labelling bottles
  • Bacteriological testing: sending one bottle of milk from each batch for testing
  • Cleaning: all equipment and preparation area
  • Documentation: completing all the recording of donors, number of bottles, batch numbers, pasteurization temperatures
  • Storage: placing milk in appropriate freezer
  • Distribution: reviewing all completed lab reports and distributing processed tested milk to selected neonatal intensive care units and babies living in the community that require donor milk​
 
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