Milk Depot FAQs

CentraCare has milk depots at CentraCare - St. Cloud Hospital, CentraCare - Monticello and CentraCare - Long Prairie, allowing pre-screened donors to drop off extra breast milk to help medically vulnerable babies.

This allows access to safely pasteurized, life-giving human donor milk when a mother's milk is unavailable or in low supply. Jeanne Friebe, RNC, IBCLC, a nurse and lactation consultant at CentraCare, is a depot coordinator and recently answered some questions about donating breast milk.

Question: What is a donor human milk bank?

Jeanne: Mothers who are breastfeeding often have extra breast milk. A milk bank is a facility which processes human donor milk for distribution to infants who need breast milk. The donated milk is pasteurized, tested to be safe for use and is then frozen and stored until it is shipped to healthcare facilities. Anyone who needs breast milk can contact a milk bank to purchase it.

Question: What is the difference between a human donor milk bank and a milk depot?

Jeanne: A milk depot is a place where mothers can bring their extra milk to donate to other babies. The collected milk is transported to the milk bank.

Each human milk depot is affiliated with an established milk bank. The milk donated to a depot is then sent to the Minnesota Milk Bank for Babies, which is located in Golden Valley.

The Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) mobilizes the healing power of donor milk by accrediting nonprofit milk banks in the United States and Canada and setting international guidelines for pasteurized donor human milk.

Question: Who can benefit from the donated milk?

Jeanne: Not only does the milk go to those who request it, but it also goes to healthcare facilities. A premature baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit may eat one ounce or less in a single feeding. Exclusive human milk feeding significantly reduces the incidence of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), a leading cause for prematurity-related death.

Question: What should I do if I'm interested in donating breast milk?

Jeanne: If you are interested in donating milk, contact the Minnesota Milk Bank for Babies at info@mnmilkbank.org or 763-546-8051 and the Milk Bank staff will guide you through the screening process, including a blood test, which is free.

Once approved, you can drop off your precious donation at the CentraCare milk banks.