Mother's Milk Bank Overflowing With Donations, More Needed
By Kathy Walsh
ARVADA, Colo. (CBS4) - A Colorado-based effort benefiting babies is celebrating big numbers. The Mothers' Milk Bank (MMB) has distributed more than four million ounces of human milk to hundreds of thousands of babies in need.
The milk bank, based in Arvada, has been around for 32 years. The 10,000th donor is from Boulder.
"I have some milk to donate," said Stacy Sampson as she dropped off 130 ounces of breast milk.
Sampson has heard it called "liquid gold." She knows why.
"It takes a lot of work to get to it and it saves babies lives," Sampson told CBS4 Health Specialist Kathy Walsh.
Sampson's donation is her way of saying "Thanks." Her baby, 7-month-old Cora, is thriving now, but she was born six weeks early when Sampson had complications. Three-pound, nine-ounce Cora was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit.
"She was not able to suck, swallow, breathe yet on her own," said Sampson.
Tiny Cora was fed donated breast milk until her own mother's milk came in. Sampson ended up with an oversupply, so the recipient-turned-donor.
"Moms helped Cora get off to a great start and she's thriving today, so I just hope the same for other babies that are not off to an optimal start," said Sampson.
The MMB counts on caring moms like Sampson. The nonprofit just hit a milestone of four million ounces. Stacy Sampson is their 10,000th donor.
"We still have a long way to go," said MMB Director of Outreach Laraine Lockhart Borman.
MMB is one of 21 nonprofit donor milk banks in North America. The Arvada milk bank is on track to process 700,000 ounces of human milk this year. But estimates are nine million ounces are needed by premature or sick babies nationwide annually.
"You can save a baby's life if you donate your milk and there's nothing more important than that," said Lockhart Borman.
Mother's milk is lifesaving nourishment for preemies. It reduces digestive tract infections by 79 percent and many other infections as well.
Additional Resources
Visit milkbankcolorado.org for more information.
Kathy Walsh is CBS4's Weekend Anchor and Health Specialist. She has been with CBS4 for more than 30 years. She is always open to story ideas. Follow Kathy on Twitter @WalshCBS4.