A desperate appeal from the hospital: “Our refrigerators are empty”
“Dear mothers! We have a problem! We are looking for Honorary Milk Donors because our refrigerators are empty!” – the University Hospital in Zielona Góra appeals on social media.
According to the hospital in Zielona Góra, at the moment the facility has only 10 liters of precious fluid. “And our children drink nearly 30 liters a month! This year alone, as many as 335 tiny patients, mainly premature babies, benefited from milk obtained from other mothers. This is important because thanks to natural food they recover faster and develop better. They simply have a greater chance of survival…” – you can read on the Facebook fanpage of the University Hospital in Zielona Góra.
What is a milk bank?
The hospital in Zielona Góra is among several centers in Poland where the project “Supporting mothers and children in proper nutrition in crisis” is implemented. The Human Milk Bank has been operating here for four years and each year provides milk to over 300 children hospitalized in the neonatal ward, giving 250-300 liters of milk to premature babies whose mothers cannot breastfeed for various reasons. The milk bank guarantees every sick child a supply of natural milk. As the hospital emphasizes, for prematurely born children, breast milk is not only food, but also medicine. It prevents many complications and helps you recover if they occur.
How can I donate milk?
The University Hospital in Zielona Góra asks mothers who have milk supplies and want to help to contact us. All necessary information can be obtained at 7.00-14.00 by phone: 68 300 07 63 or 730 711 767.
On the website of the Human Milk Bank, the hospital also provides detailed conditions on who can donate milk. “A donor can only be a healthy lactating woman who, while breastfeeding her own child, decides to donate her milk for the needs of other children. Cooperation with the human milk bank is honorary, which means that the donor does not receive any compensation for donating her milk. However, it is equipped with appropriate accessories for proper expression and storage of milk,” we read. A candidate for a donor must undergo blood tests for HIV, hepatitis B and C and syphilis. Moreover, while working with the bank, a woman cannot smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, drink large amounts of caffeine-containing drinks, take certain medications or take illegal drugs.
