The aim of Milkshare is to promote safe breastmilk sharing in the UK and to raise awareness that formula is not the only option for mothers who are unable to breastfeed.
The Share Milk forum allows potential donors and recipients from all over the UK to connect and help each other.
Milkshare is supporting mothers to make a positive change and improve the health of babies one drop at a time.
Donating breastmilk is an amazing gift that will provide many health benefits to another baby. To donate milk, you should be in good health, have enough milk for your own baby and have the time to regularly express.
If you’re thinking about becoming a breastmilk donor, please visit UKAMB to see if there are any milk banks close to you. If you live too far away to donate milk to a milk bank, private milk sharing is a wonderful way for you to help babies whose own mothers are unable to breastfeed. Breastmilk is an amazing gift that will provide many health benefits to babies who would otherwise be fed on formula milk. Please read through all the information in this section before you visit the Share Milk section to offer your milk to families in need.
Some recipients will not accept your milk if you:
- have had more than one sexual partner within the last six months
- have used illegal drugs within the last six months
- have received a blood transfusion
- smoke
- routinely drink more than 2 units of alcohol per day
- routinely drink more than 3 cups of caffeine-containing drinks per day
- routinely take medication including herbal remedies (other than progesterone-only contraceptives.
However, it is still worth offering your milk if you have any of these risk factors as it depends on the individual recipient. You should be prepared to answer detailed questions about your lifestyle and medical history and also be willing to have blood tests to screen for HIV-1, HIV-2, HTLV-1, HTLV-2, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and syphilis. These tests are available at your local sexual health clinic, genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinic or GP surgery.
Dear Lisa
It is now increasingly possible to donate breastmilk to a milk bank even if you don’t live close to one. Please encourage all mothers interested in donating to contact UKAMB (by email preferably – info@ukamb.org) even if they are a long way from their nearest bank. Several of the UK banks recruit donors over long distances and volunteer delivery services are helping to transport frozen breastmilk across the country. Mothers can also phone UKAMB on 0203 313 3559. In this way the donated breastmilk will be available for the very sick and premature infants who need it most. Gillian
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It is worth noting that milk banks will only accept milk from donors whose baby is 6 months old or younger .
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