Pasteurized Donor Human Milk for Hospitals
Give your patients the best care by offering Pasteurized Donor Human Milk from
The Milk Bank in your hospital or healthcare facility.
Human Milk Saves Lives
Use of an exclusive human milk diet for preterm and low-birth weight infants reduces mortality by 75%. That is why, when mom’s own milk isn’t available, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization recommend the use of Pasteurized Donor Human Milk (PDHM). View our Standard of Care document to learn more about why every hospital should include a PDHM program as part of their healthcare offerings.
Why Choose The Milk Bank?
Since 2005, The Milk Bank has dispensed millions of ounces of Pasteurized Donor Human Milk (PDHM) to hospitals across the Midwest and South for use in their NICUs, Special Care Nurseries (SCN), and Well-Baby Units.
The Milk Bank is proud to offer a robust PDHM program that can meet the needs of your hospital:
- Stable PDHM inventory with 100% fill rate across all patient populations
- Competitive and contracted pricing
- Full spectrum nutritional analysis including protein and calories, offered at 20, 22, and 24 calories per ounce
- Assistance as needed with performance metrics
- Optional access to outpatient milk dispensaries to extend patient continuum of care
- Independent third-party lab microbiological testing for each order
- Accessible QR code on each bottle for easy scanning and charting
Interested in learning more? Request one of our Healthcare Partner Resource Kits, shown at right, to explore all of our offerings and resources available for your hospital and patients.
Your Partner in Infant Health
We provide our hospital partners with a dedicated Director of Hospital Services to assist you in every step of implementing your PDHM program.
Jacque Hernandez, MBA
Director of Hospital Services
Using PDHM
in the NICU
Reduce mortality rates, decrease healthcare costs, and shorten hospital stays.
In the NICU, every decision impacts the most vulnerable patients. Incorporating PDHM into your feeding protocol provides critically ill and low birth weight infants with the safest alternative when mother’s own milk is unavailable.
Using PDHM can reduce the life-threatening risk of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), sepsis, retinopathy of prematurity, and bronchopulmonary dysplasia.¹ PDHM aligns with evidence-based care and demonstrates your hospital’s commitment to the highest standard of neonatal nutrition.
Using PDHM in the Postpartum Unit
Benefits include reducing hypoglycemia, weight loss, and hyperbilirubinemia.
Leading health authorities like the AAP, WHO, and the US Surgeon General recommend PDHM for use with full-term babies.² Research has demonstrated exclusive breastfeeding rates are higher at discharge when donor milk is available for supplementation.³
Offering PDHM as a feeding option on your postpartum ward ensures newborns receive optimal nutrition while helping parents initiate and sustain breastfeeding- supporting both clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction. There is no minimum order size with The Milk Bank- regardless of your unit size!
Using PDHM in an Outpatient Setting
Support infants and their families throughout the first year postpartum.
Donor milk is essential for babies with complex medical conditions, including those experiencing failure to thrive, reflux, GI disorders, cardiac conditions, kidney or liver disease, spinal muscular atrophy, formula intolerance, or other congenital conditions. Donor milk is also beneficial to bridge to a successful breastfeeding routine or for maternal illness, separation, or adoption.
Providing donor milk through an outpatient setting supports exclusive breastfeeding rates, enhances newborn health outcomes, and helps your hospital move toward achieving Baby-Friendly designation.
Are you a current partner looking to access resources or order PDHM?
Interested in Implementing a PDHM Program?
Explore your PDHM options with The Milk Bank by connecting with our Director of Hospital Services, Jacque Hernandez.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pasteurized Donor Human Milk (PDHM)
In order to ensure the safety and quality of PDHM supplied to premature and ill infants, The Milk Bank adheres to strict guidelines and protocols developed by the Human Milk Bank Association of North American (HMBANA).
Since the establishment of HMBANA , there have been no cases reported of harm being done to a recipient due to the use of PDHM. For more information, please contact The Milk Bank.
Yes! Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a leading cause of infant death impacting thousands of babies every year in the United States. The NICU cost burden of NEC among premature infants is huge, not to mention the lifelong complications and medical costs that may follow a case of NEC.
Research shows that an exclusive human milk diet offers these infants the most protection. The cost of using banked donor milk to feed premature infants is inconsequential when compared to the savings from NEC prevention. (Arnold, L. J Hum Lact: 18(2), 2002; 172-176.)
A reduction in length of stay, NEC, and sepsis may result in a relative savings of approximately $11 to the NICU or healthcare plan for each $1 spent for PDHM. (Wight, N.E. J Perinatol. 2001; 21:249-254.)
Click here to request brochures, materials for pregnancy, birth, or breastfeeding classes, or to request free clinical education resources.
Orders received prior to 2:30pm EST will be delivered the next day via UPS overnight delivery. Orders received after 2:30pm EST will be shipped out the following business day. Orders can be received same-day through a carrier service for an additional fee.
Orders are dispensed Monday-Thursday.
Sources
- Quigley M, Embleton ND, Meader N, McGuire W. Donor human milk for preventing necrotising enterocolitis in very preterm or very low-birthweight infants. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2024 Sep 6;9(9):CD002971. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD002971.pub6. PMID: 39239939; PMCID: PMC11378496.
- Joan Younger Meek, Lawrence Noble, Section on Breastfeeding. AAP; Policy Statement: Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk. Pediatrics July 2022; 150 (1): e2022057988. 10.1542/peds.2022-057988
- Belfort MB, Drouin K, et al. Prevalence and Trends in Donor Milk in the Well-Baby Nursery. Breastfeed Med. 2018 Jan/Feb; 13(1): 34-41. doi: 10.1089/bfm.2017.0147.