It’s world day of Human Milk Donation and I thought I’d help spread the word as many people don’t realise you can donate while breastfeeding!

Before I was pregnant I watched a news clip about premature babies and women that were donating breastmilk to help them. I remember thinking that if I was ever lucky enough to breastfeed, it would be something I’d like to do. Also, if Evander arrived prematurely and I wasn’t able to feed him I would like to think this could’ve been an option for us.

It wasn’t mentioned during any midwife or NCT classes but there was a leaflet at my local breastfeeding support group.

It’s very easy to do! You receive a blood pack in the post which you take to your nurse. They take blood (not a lot- just enough for 3 or 4 small samples) and you pop this in the post. About a week later, you receive an email confirming your bloods are ok and you’re good to go! Bottles are sent along with labels and a thermometer for your freezer. You check the temperature daily and email when you have enough for a pickup. A friendly volunteer collects and takes the milk to the central bank where it is pasturised and split up into various quantities and distributed all around the country to babies who need it. I donated 4 litres and was able to also build a freezer stash for Evander.
More info here if anyone is intrested
https://www.nhsggc.org.uk/your-health/health-services/milk-bank-scotland/