PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lindsay McGuire, lmcguire@themilkbank.org
Milk Donor Drives Happening Across Six Indiana Counties to Support Vulnerable Infants
INDIANAPOLIS – April 7, 2025
Every week, thousands of fragile infants in the NICU and their families rely on pasteurized human donor milk as a form of nutrition and medicine. To meet the needs of these families, The Milk Bank must constantly source and screen new milk donors who have a heart for service and some extra milk to share.
To ensure a safe and stable supply of pasteurized donor human milk is available for the most fragile infants, The Milk Bank is partnering with the Indiana Department of Health and Indiana WIC to host virtual milk donor drives in six Indiana counties, including Allen, Clark, Lake, Marion, Monroe, and Tippecanoe.
“We know access to safe donor milk in the NICU is a key part of combatting Indiana’s infant mortality rate. We’re happy to partner with The Milk Bank on this virtual milk donor drive to ensure the most vulnerable infants continue to have access to the nutrition and medicine they need,” said Indiana WIC Director Laura Chavez.
The virtual milk donor drives are being hosted through Facebook events April 7 – 21 on The Milk Bank’s Facebook page. The goal is to source new milk donors who have excess breast milk to donate to The Milk Bank, who will then process, analyze, pasteurize, and distribute it to NICUs across the state.
Those who want to participate in or share about the milk donor drive can find the virtual event within their county here. Anyone interested in becoming a milk donor through The Milk Bank will begin the process by submitting a donor screening form.
“Every year, we rely on more than 1,000 milk donors to generously donate milk to save the most vulnerable infants. Like blood donors, they are providing hope and changing lives of families they may never meet,” said Freedom Kolb, CEO of The Milk Bank.
“We are proud to partner with the Indiana Department of Health and Indiana WIC on this milk donor drive. We look forward to connecting with new milk donors throughout Indiana who want to join us on our mission of saving infant lives and improving health outcomes by providing access to safe human milk.”
The drives coincide with National Volunteer Month, which encourages people to get involved in giving back to their community. “Donating breast milk is one of the most impactful acts of service a mother can do,” Kolb said. Every ounce of breast milk donated can equal up to three feedings for babies who rely on milk as not only a source of nutrition, but as lifesaving medicine.
About The Milk Bank:
The Milk Bank is a non-profit tissue bank dispensing more than 600,000 ounces of pasteurized donor human milk to hospitals and families throughout the region every year. Since its inception in 2005, The Milk Bank has provided more than 15.6 million feedings of safe human milk to those who are often born too small, too sick, or too soon. The Milk Bank improves health outcomes for premature and ill infants, fosters better health for children, and decreases health care expenditures. The Milk Bank follows the strictest safety standards informed by the CDC and FDA and is a proud member of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA). Visit https://www.themilkbank.org/ to learn more.
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Review our press kit and for additional media inquiries, contact Lindsay McGuire, Assistant Director of Advancement – Branding & Outreach, at lmcguire@themilkbank.org or 317-536-1670 ext. 114.
To learn more about how The Milk Bank can serve infants in your community or to support The Milk Bank, visit themilkbank.org.
