Who can be a milk donor

Donate and Support

Home Donate and Support Hong Kong Breast Milk Bank Who can be a milk donor

To support vulnerable infants, we appeal to healthy lactating mothers to donate their breast milk. To ensure the safety and quality of donor milk, prospective donors should meet the following criteria:

Good health and nutrition	Donors must be in good overall health, have adequate nutrition and producing sufficient breast milk, with no chronic illnesses or infections that could affect the quality of their milk.
Infectious disease screening	Donors will undergo blood tests for screening of infectious diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), human T-lymphotropic virus (HTLV), hepatitis B and C, and syphilis.
No exposure to cigarette smoking	Donors must be non-smokers, and not be exposed to high or sustained levels of passive smoke.
Drug and alcohol use	Donors must not be drug abusers or regular alcohol consumers.
Medications, infection exposures and medical interventions	Donors have to provide a list of medications and supplements they are taking, and report the following: Concurrent mastitis Other acute infections Recent exposure to tuberculosis, measles or varicella zoster virus Medical therapy and interventions (e.g. exposure to diagnostic radioactive isotopes, blood transfusion) At increased risk of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
Lifestyle factors	Donors should follow a healthy diet and lifestyle Individuals with at-risk behaviors (e.g. at-risk sexual practices, recent body piercing / tattoos / cosmetic tattoos / acupuncture within 6 months if not performed with a single-use needle) should not donate Vegetarians / vegans should take vitamin B12 supplements Consume no more than 200mg of caffeine daily (approximately 3 cups of regular coffee)
Breastfeeding status	Donors have to be currently lactating and their baby is less than one-year-old.
Milk storage	Donors need to follow proper milk collection and storage practices to ensure their milk is kept in optimal condition before donation.
Consent and documentation	Donors will be asked to provide informed consent and complete a detailed health and lifestyle questionnaire. Donation is entirely voluntary and non-remunerated. Donors have the right to withdraw their consent and terminate the donation at any time without any consequences. Once the donated breast milk is received, it will not be returned to the donors, even if consent is withdrawn later.
Confidentiality	All donors are kept anonymous. Personal information collected by the Breast Milk Bank is only accessible to authorised personnel and will remain confidential.