Portneuf Medical Center opens breast milk donation center

Portneuf Medical Center opened its human breast milk Donation and Outreach Center Friday, joining the Mothers’ Milk Bank, a Colorado-based, nonprofit program that benefits women and babies nationwide. The donation bank will allow Pocatello-are mothers with extra milk to donate and help mothers and babies in need.

“We are pleased to join Mothers’ Milk Bank of Denver, Colorado and provide our community a closer location for breastmilk donation,” said Margaret Larson, RD, LD. Many premature infants within our own NICU have received and benefited from donor breastmilk and we, along with their families, greatly appreciate those mothers who choose and are able to donate.”

Portneuf will safely transport the milk donations to the Denver facility where it will be pasteurized and distributed back to babies in Idaho.

On Friday PMC received and will sent their first donation to the Denver facility for processing, a gift of approximately 258 ounces.

Women interested in giving the gift of human milk may fill out the donation screening form on MMB’s website, www.milkbankcolorado.org, or call 303-869-1888. For more information on MMB and its efforts to provide milk to babies who need it nationwide, visit www.milkbankcolorado.org or www.portneuf.org.