Milk Depots (previously called Donation & Outreach Centers) are healthcare or community facilities affiliated with Mothers’ Milk Bank that collect and store raw frozen donor milk and deliver it to our facility in Colorado. Milk Depots offer an easy and safe option for milk donors from more communities to donate their milk to help babies.
Milk Depots are vital to gathering donor milk to be processed and sent back to hospitals. Not only do they help us collect the milk, but they also promote the importance of safe, screened donor human milk as an option for new families. We are so grateful for these amazing community partners and hope you are, too! With that in mind, here are three things to keep in mind, before you drop off your milk:
Call Ahead
Lots of our Milk Depots have small teams and even smaller freezers. Many of our donors have an incredible oversupply, which is AMAZING, but keep in mind if your deep freezer is full, your Milk Depot might not have room for all of your milk. To avoid being turned away, we suggest calling ahead to make sure they have the staff and space for a large donation, especially the first time you drop off milk.
Label your Milk
When you go to drop off your milk, make sure your donation is clearly labeled with your name and donor number. Make sure each bag is labeled with the date it was pumped, but you do not need to include your name and donor number on each bag. Storage bags, labeled with the date, can then be placed in a larger bag, like a grocery or large Ziploc. Be sure the outside of the larger bag is marked with your donor number. If you’re unsure about what your donor number is, please call (303.869.1888) or email the Donor Relations team.
Plan ahead
If you know you have an oversupply, to help avoid overloading the Milk Depot’s resources, plan ahead and make smaller, more frequent donations. This will give them time to send their stash to us. Keep in mind that we accept milk up to eight months after it has been pumped, so it does not need to be dropped off immediately. If you have milk that has been frozen longer than eight months, please check in with the Donor Relations team, as sometimes we are able to accept older milk. However, if you have an overflowing freezer, you can always request a box from Mothers’ Milk Bank, and we will cover the cost of shipping. Just remember to never ship milk on a Friday.
There you have it—a few of the many reasons your local Milk Depot makes the donation process easy! If your community doesn’t have a Milk Depot, you can always request a box to ship your milk. Want to get a depot started? Tell your local lactation consultant, midwife, or hospital about your experience donating to Mothers’ Milk Bank. If they have the bandwidth, we’d love to partner with them.