Bay Area nonprofit needs breast milk donations as hospitals see increased demand
The nonprofit organization is headquartered in San Jose and has about 1,200 donors in their system.
"We're really reaching out to our community hoping for their support," Cynthia Ptacek, the donor services team lead at Mothers' Milk Bank California, told CBS News Bay Area.
Since California Bill AB 3059, also known as the Human Milk Bill, passed a few months ago, the milk bank has seen greater demand from hospitals, especially in the Bay Area.
"It has made it easier for hospitals to use milk they no longer are required to have a tissue bank license. And also, commercial insurance companies are now covering this lifesaving nutrition," Ptacek said.
She adds that they have been busier than ever trying to meet this demand.
"It's important to us that we are here supporting our moms, supporting our donors, and most of all, supporting the babies," Ptacek said.
Mothers are thoroughly screened before they are able to donate their breast milk to the milk bank. Once they ship their frozen milk to the bank, staff then thaw the milk before they homogenize it. After pasteurization, the milk is frozen before being tested at a county laboratory for bacteria.
"Because a sample is sent out to the county, we're required to wait until we get confirmation that it's safe and then we're able to ship it out to our hospitals," Ptacek said
Mothers' Milk Bank ships out about 7,000 ounces of milk daily to about 60% of hospitals in California.
"We also do serve some outpatients, sometimes babies are fostered, they've been adopted or their moms their milk hasn't come in yet," she said. "So, we act as a little bit of bridge milk for them."
Tessa Elkins, who lives in San Jose, shared that she has donated about 3,000 ounces of milk.
"After doing some research and knowing that there's such a high demand for breast milk in the NICUs and hospitals and families in need who aren't able to produce breast milk for their babies, so I wanted to be able to do that," Elkins told CBS News Bay Area.
Staff at the milk bank said that donations from new mothers like Elkins do make a difference.
"Every drop matters, so just keep that in mind, even if it's just two ounces at a time, all of that milk can save a baby's life," Elkins said.
And with the teamwork of compassionate Bay Area mothers, the mission is personal.
"I personally pumped for my son when he was in the hospital, and so I know how stressful it can be when your baby needs extra care. And I wanted to also give back," Ptacek said.
She hopes that more families can help during this time of need.
"Breast milk isn't just milk, it's medicine," she said.
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