SALT LAKE CITY - The mother's milk bank depot at the University of Utah Health Care's Redwood Health Center is asking for help from Utah mothers because of a shortage of frozen breast milk.
The depot used to send out eight boxes of milk a week, but in the last few months, that number has decreased significantly. They say the shortage could be because of the summer months with vacations and busy families make taking time for breast milk donation harder, but the need for breast milk is higher than ever.
Donors must be healthy, non-smokers who don't take any medications. To donate, mothers must fill out a medical history form, but once you become approved for donation, the process is easy.
"The milk bank actually sends boxes to us and packets to the moms so they can collect the milk in," said Wendy Barb. "It's a very easy process. The hardest part is the mom, at home, collecting the milk, getting it frozen and getting it to us, but she can do that in the privacy of her own home and knowing she's helping a child, an infant."
The milk can then go to infants in need of the nourishment that comes from breast milk but don't have access.
For more information, visit healthcare.utah.edu.
