Canada's only human milk bank may close
CMAJ 2000;163(3):319
An advocacy group is protesting the possible closure of Canada's last human milk bank by year's end. The bank at the BC Children's Hospital costs about $100 000 a year to operate and provides milk to about 20 infants a year, says Dr. Dorothy Shaw, the hospital's medical program director, diagnostic and ambulatory services.
"It's a significant financial outlay for a small group of babies," says Shaw. "With our deficit, we'd need extremely good evidence to say this is worth while." She says that existing scientific evidence concerning donated milk clearly does not substantiate the need for the bank.
Elisabeth Sterken, a nutritionist who serves as national director of the Infant Feeding Action Coalition (INFACT), says some case studies have demonstrated the value of donated breast milk over infant formula. "Formula is ... another stress for the infant," she says.
The milk at the BC milk bank is pooled from volunteer donors, pasteurized and prescribed. It is used within the hospital to feed about 12 patients annually; there are usually 5 patients with specific medical needs, primarily gastrointestinal problems, and another 7 who need the milk because of their mothers' failure to lactate. The remainder goes to children outside the hospital. Few requests for milk come from outside BC. Shaw says there are 7 other milk banks in North America, including 1 in Mexico. — Barbara Sibbald, CMAJ
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