Donor Milk Program Launches at Methodist Fremont Health

Donor Milk Program Launches at Methodist Fremont Health
July 21st, 2021 | Methodist Fremont Health

FREMONT – Methodist Fremont Health is the newest collection site for the Mother’s Milk Bank
of Iowa milk collection program. Milk from approved donors will be collected at Methodist
Fremont Health, gathered by the Mother’s Milk Bank of Iowa and dispensed to locations across
the United States. The program launched earlier this month.

If you have the gift of surplus milk, donating it to the Mother’s Milk Bank of Iowa will help to
satisfy the hunger and save the lives of babies who may be vulnerable, fragile, sick or born
prematurely. In 2020, 86% of the milk donated to the Iowa milk bank was dispensed to 52
hospitals in 13 states.

Methodist Women’s Hospital and Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital also serve as milk
depot collection locations. Methodist Fremont Health will become just the fourth collection site
in Nebraska. Other depots are located in Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

“We are very pleased to be part of this important initiative and to help meet the essential
nutritional needs of babies throughout the country,” said Tracy Moore, lactation consultant and
OB nurse navigator at Methodist Fremont Health. “We know we have many moms in our
community and area who will be interested in participating, and we can’t wait to help make a
difference in the lives of other families.”

All potential donors must pass a screening process that includes three steps:
• Verbal interview
• Written questionnaire including forms for health care providers
• Blood testing for HIV, hepatitis B and C, HTLV, and syphilis. The milk bank sends
potential donors the blood kit, blood tubes, labels, etc., which they’ll take to a local lab to
have their blood drawn.

The milk bank will contact donors thereafter with their results and approval.
Once approved, donors can bring their milk donations to Methodist Fremont Health, 450 E.
23rd St., for proper storage and collection via Mother’s Milk Bank of Iowa standards and
procedures. Milk deliveries will be by appointment only. To schedule an appointment to drop
off a donation please contact (402) 396-3494.

Any mother interested in donating should contact the University of Iowa’s donor clinical
coordinator for information on how to become an established donor. They can be reached by
calling (319) 384-9930 or (877) 891-5347.

Share:

© 2024 Nebraska Rural Radio Association. All rights reserved. Republishing, rebroadcasting, rewriting, redistributing prohibited. Copyright Information