MOTHERS MILK BANK OF NORTH TEXAS INC

Protecting vulnerable infants requires continued improvements to safety protocols, including rigorous donor screenings, milk processing guidelines and third-party testing. Numerous safeguards are in place to protect the quality and integrity of every bottle of donor milk.

MMBNT exceeds measures set by the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA), which are developed according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and World Health Organization (WHO) standards.

Collecting donor milk for pasteurization at MMBNT is accomplished in many ways; most commonly through collection sites called milk “depots”. Donors drop off frozen breastmilk to depots where it is safely stored in freezers before being transported to the milk bank. Upon arrival, frozen milk is logged into a sophisticated bar code and tracking system. Milk is then thawed, pasteurized and tested for bacteria before it is packaged and dispensed to premature and critically ill infants. 80% of donor milk is dispensed by physician prescription to hospital NICUs. 20% is dispensed by physician prescription to medically needy babies at home.

MMBNT maintains a rigorous process for screening human milk donors. Donor mothers are “triple screened” through a comprehensive verbal and written interview, healthcare provider statement and blood testing for communicable diseases.

MMBNT operates its pasteurization lab under the guidelines of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). To ensure safety, the milk bank lab utilizes the Holder pasteurization method which has been used for decades in milk banking and is very different from traditional pasteurization in the dairy industry. Holder pasteurization gently preserves 60-100% of the immunological properties that protect preemies from deadly infections and complications in the NICU. The macronutrients remain unchanged. Current scientific research shows that gentle pasteurization yields safe donor milk for the tiniest babies while maintaining immune protection. Donor milk remains frozen and has a short expiration date to ensure babies receive as many immunological benefits as possible.

Thanks to the generous donations from more than 12,500 breastmilk donors, more than 7.4 million ounces of donated breastmilk have been dispensed to the babies who need it most. In 2022, MMBNT dispensed 854,442 ounces, a record-breaking 12% increase from 2021.