A mother’s milk is a gift like no other
All babies, whether in the hospital or at home, need support to survive and thrive. Every ounce counts. Your donation of extra breast milk saves lives.
Step 1
Get Started
Complete the 2-part online application. We’ll take care of contacting your health care provider.
Step 2
Screening Phone Call
Connect on the phone with one of our staff.
Step 3
Get Blood Drawn
We’ll provide an order and cover the costs for a convenient blood draw.
Step 4
Start Saving Lives
Receive your Donor ID and start donating to babies in need!
Preemies need you
Donate Breastmilk, Save Lives
There is no greater gift to a family of a fragile NICU baby than donor milk. Milk donations are more than just nutrition, it’s life-saving medicine. Over 1,000 superheroes each year answer the call to save a life. Will you join them in helping a baby in need?
The overall process takes approximately 32 days. While this may seem like a long time, it’s a vital step to ensuring that we go through all safety measures and health assessments necessary.
Your hard work saves lives.
Your hard work can save lives. We’re in
desperate need of donated breast milk for babies.
Will you become a first responder to a baby in need?
Click below to begin the process.
Donor FAQ
For preemies & sick infants, human milk is lifesaving medicine. Hospitals rely on milk banks to provide pasteurized donor milk for these fragile patients when a parent is unable to provide their own.
Whether you have 50 ounces, a freezer full, or plan to donate a little at a time throughout your breastfeeding journey – EVERY OUNCE COUNTS! One ounce provides up to three feedings for the tiniest NICU champs.
If you’ve been recording the date pumped on your storage containers, we can accept milk that has already been pumped! Milk can typically be donated up to 9 months of pump date when stored properly in a freezer. Your donor specialist will review our storage guidelines & let you know if there are any exceptions based on your health questionnaire.
The Milk Bank never profits from your generous donations! There are financial costs for all of the safety measures that help turn gifts of milk into medicine for fragile babies. Hospitals pay this processing fee & our outpatient families have access to a sliding-scale Medical Relief Fund.
At The Milk Bank, your lovingly pumped breast milk becomes lifesaving nutrition! After a careful intake process, milk is weighed, recorded by your Donor ID and kept frozen. Once in the lab, milk is defrosted, nutritionally analyzed, and pooled with milk from up to four other donors. Milk is portioned into specialty bottles, sealed, and labeled with a tracking bar code before being pasteurized to kill any harmful bacteria. Pasteurized milk is stored in a walk-in freezer, while one bottle is sent offsite for a final microbiological test. After the results are in, frozen pasteurized donor milk is sent to tiny tummies in the hospital and at home!
On average, the process takes 32 days, but many donors fast-track the process and can become approved donors in half the time by scheduling their blood test & asking their doctor to be on the lookout for a fax from The Milk Bank!
With lots of convenient drop-off locations in the community, there might be donation sites near your home or work! If not, don’t worry, we’ll send you shipping supplies at no cost.
We’d love to answer your questions about becoming a milk donor. If your question isn’t listed above, please send an email to milkdonor@themilkbank.org, set up a phone appointment here, or call 317-536-1670 and ask to speak to the donor relations team.