Donate Your Breast Milk–Haiti Emergency Relief Milk Program

While most of the information you will find concerning the need for relief efforts in Haiti following the tragic earthquake that hit Tuesday will be about the many, many charities you can donate to who are in need of emergency funds in order to provide the people of Haiti clean drinking water, food, blankets, temporary shelter and other supplies, I have just learned that you can also donate something else to the people of Haiti; something that will undoubtedly save countless children’s lives and something relatively easy to donate, especially if you, like myself, have a very low number coming up in your bank account. Breast milk–that’s right, you are able to donate your breast milk to Haitian babies in need; that is, if you can keep up with your child’s needs, of course.

Children are the most vulnerable during emergencies. Due to malnutrition and respiratory illnesses that are common and rampant among children after an emergency situation, particularly in the days, weeks and months following a natural disaster, child mortality can soar from 2-70 times higher than average. In addition to ensuring that a baby in Haiti has a food source when other sources may not be available for them, breast milk can also be used to wash with and treat scrapes and other small wounds, which will go such a long way in Haiti, where hospitals have been demolished and doctors, nurses, volunteers and caregivers are waiting on relief and aid when it comes to all sorts of medical supplies that they are in desperate need of.

The World Health Organization/United Nations Children’s Fund had this to say about breast milk in emergency situations:

“Where it is not possible for the biological mother to breastfeed, the first alternative, if available, should be the use of human breast milk from other sources. Human milk banks should be made available in appropriate situations.”

To donate your breast milk, contact the Human Milk Banking Association of North America by calling 1-866-998-4550 for further information on how to get your breast milk to children in need. You can also check milk banks and medical centers that accept breast milk donations all across the country, as well as in British Columbia, Canada here. Because of the conditions in Haiti, the International Breast Milk Project has reported that breast milk donations may be difficult to make it to and be sustained in Haiti and if your donation is not possible, your breast milk will be used in the United States for babies in the NICU and cases where it is medically needed so either way, your breast milk donation will be saving and sustaining lives.

Woman Tribune has been reporting on the relief efforts, current conditions, ways to donate and how people around the world are uniting to help Haiti in a time of serious and desperate need. We will continue reporting as information becomes available, so please consider following our reporting on Haiti to stay up to date on what is happening there.