Hong Kong Breast Milk Bank
Pasteurised donor breast milk
Information sheet for parents
1. Why does my newborn baby need pasteurised donor breast milk?
Breast milk is the best form of nourishment for babies and comes with multiple health benefits especially for those born premature or critically ill. Mother’s own milk is usually the best, however, when it is insufficient or unsuitable for a baby due to medical reasons, pasteurised donor breast milk (PDBM) is the next best option.
2. What are the benefits using PDBM?
- Human milk is more easily digestible and better tolerated than artificial milk formula especially in babies with premature gut development.
- It has more immunological factors that help to protect vulnerable babies from infections.
- There is strong medical evidence to suggest that it significantly reduces the risk of serious complications, notably necrotising enterocolitis – a life-threatening intestinal disease which may cause severe long-term sequelae from massive gut resection among premature babies.
3. Who are the breast milk donors?
- Healthy mothers whose babies are under one year old.
- Donors are only eligible to donate milk after passing a comprehensive assessment by interview and health screening questionnaire that includes medication history, no smoking and illegal drugs, restricted alcohol and caffeine consumption, no blood transfusion and non-single-use acupuncture within 6 months and adequate supplement for vegetarian.
- Donors are required to have blood tests periodically to screen against Hepatitis B, C & E, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Human T-lymphotropic Virus types 1 or 2 and Syphilis.
- Milk donation is voluntary. Donors do not receive any remuneration and their information is kept confidential.
4. Does pasteurization change breast milk?
- Most of the unique nutrients and components in breast milk remain intact after pasteurisation.
- Pasteurisation may destroy cells including white blood cells and certain bacterial strains that have probiotic properties. Bioactive components of breast milk like lactoferrin, immunoglobulins and enzymes are also reduced.
- Despite these changes, PDBM is still the best option for infants if they cannot be fed with mother’s own milk.
5. How to ensure the PDBM is safe and of high quality?
Collection and transportation of breast milk:
- Donors will be given specific and detailed instructions on how to collect, label and store the expressed breast milk.
- The HKBMB provides a qualified courier service to pick up and transport their breast milk under standardised cold chain logistics.
- The condition of each collection will be carefully inspected on arrival at the HKBMB before it is accepted.
Processing of breast milk:
- To ensure safety, the breast milk will undergo initial microbiological screening followed by pasteurisation to remove harmful micro-organisms.
- Pasteurisation uses heat to kill or inactivate pathogens in breast milk, similar to processing of cow’s milk before human consumption.
- After pasteurisation, the breast milk will undergo microbiological testing again to ensure that the breast milk is safe for our babies.
- Nutritional analysis will be performed to monitor the nutritional content of the PDBM.
6. What are the possible risks of using PDBM?
- The risk of infections, while not zero, is exceedingly low, just as in the case of blood products. Many steps including microbiological screening and pasteurisation are followed in HKBMB to ensure that the risk of infections and exposure to harmful chemicals from donor breast milk is as low as technically feasible.
- Composition of the milk may vary depending on the donor’s lactation stage. Some babies may need fortification of the milk according to their requirements to optimize their growth.
7. Is my baby’s privacy protected?
- Baby’s information will be kept confidential and only used for his/her own medical management.
- Baby’s aggregate data (without personal information) may be used for education, research and quality control purposes.
Hong Kong Breast Milk Bank (HKBMB)
The Hong Kong Breast Milk Bank is located at the Hong Kong Children’s Hospital. It is a service established under the Hospital Authority with the aim of providing safe and high-quality PDBM for premature and sick babies in the hospitals. It strictly adheres to protocols adapted from international guidelines for milk banking including the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and the Human Milk Banking Association of North America. Same as blood donation, breast milk donors must undergo health screening and blood tests to ensure eligibility to donate. Donor breast milk is processed in the milk bank with a robust system for screening, microbiological testing, pasteurisation and nutritional analysis, all under precise temperature control. Milk meeting the standards will be distributed to babies in need according to doctor’s prescription.
Lactation support
- Mother’s own milk is the still the best. Lactation support will be offered to the recipient’s mother by health care professionals so that she can eventually provide sufficient breast milk for her own baby.
- You can seek advice from the hotlines of your birthing hospital or community services.
Contacts of Hong Kong Breast Milk Bank
Version Feb 2025