We provide assured access to safe, screened stocks of donor human milk to over 50 NHS hospital neonatal units across England & Wales. DHM is primarily used to feed preterm or sick babies in NICU/SCBU, helping to reduce the risk of complications such as necrotising enterocolitis (NEC). Donor milk is also supportive of breastfeeding, providing a vital bridge giving mothers and birthing people the time and support to establish a full milk supply. The Hearts Milk Bank is based in Gossoms End Health Centre in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire where all donor milk undergoes microbiological testing and pasteurisation. Since 2017, our network has grown rapidly through the opening of our donor milk hubs in Norfolk, Kent, Sussex, South Wales and Northumbria, enabling us to extend our provision to recruit milk donors and supply DHM to hospitals in these regions. Transport of DHM is facilitated by our close partnership with the SERV ‘Blood Bike’ volunteer groups across the country.
If you would like to order milk for use in your neonatal unit or hospital, please contact us by calling 01442 505 020 / 01442 505 021 between 9:00am-4:30pm or by email – info@heartsmilkbank.org.
One of the first hospitals to contact us for donor milk was Luton and Dunstable NICU. We wanted to know how the Hearts Milk Bank supports staff and patients on this busy neonatal unit. Lauren Wong, Senior Sister, spoke to us about her experience of working with HMB.
I work in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) at Luton and Dunstable Hospital. We are a busy Level 3 unit, which means that we are able to care for babies who are very sick, or extremely premature (from 23 weeks gestation upwards). My role is as a Senior Sister and Infant Feeding lead nurse for the NICU.
Our primary use is for babies born at less than 32 weeks gestation, either to supplement mother’s own milk production (for example if mother is very unwell or having difficulties / a delay building her supply), or very occasionally in situations where we cannot give mother’s milk (for example due to chemotherapy). We also sometimes use donor breast milk for older babies who are very sick (for example those undergoing cooling therapy) or those with digestive issues.
We see breast milk as being like a medicine for our babies. It contains important factors for brain development, antibodies to fight disease and infection, and helps protects against allergies. However, the most important issue for our premature and sick population is that breast milk reduces the risk of a gut condition called necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) which can be very serious for babies.
There is strong evidence that increased use of breast milk saves the NHS money in the long term, by reducing the incidence of hospital admissions in babies (gastroenteritis, chest infections etc) as well as lowering the chances of many other conditions affecting older children and adults. We see demand for donor breast milk increasing, and being more widely used as the importance of breast milk is better understood.
I first heard about the Hearts Milk Bank through a friend who had seen an article online about a new milk bank for the region. We are very excited to be involved with the HMB. It is wonderful for us to have a regional milk bank where our NICU mums can easily donate their expressed milk without having to travel (the amazing SERV motorbike team will collect their milk). Mums are always glad to know that some of this milk may come back to us and be given to new babies coming in (some of their own babies may have also received donor milk for a while).
The staff at HMB are incredibly knowledgeable about milk banking and all things breast milk-related, and are always happy to answer our many questions. Gillian has visited the unit to give us some teaching about the processes involved in providing donor breast milk. This was a fascinating talk, and an excellent opportunity for doctors and nurses to ask any questions they had around milk banking.
We are now able to simply give the HMB contact details to our mums with excess milk, and they will guide them through the donation process. The HMB team also sensitively deals with bereaved parents who wish to discuss donating expressed breast milk. It may offer some small comfort for these parents to know that they have helped another family in a similar situation.
It is reassuring for us to have a local and reliable source of donor breast milk, rather than having to obtain milk wherever it is available. Also, as there is no courier charge for the Hearts Milk Bank, we are able to order small amounts as needed, rather than trying to predict long term use and order in larger volumes. They can provide us with larger or smaller bottles to suit our requirements (this helps us to avoid wastage), and they also provide a simple form for each batch to help us record information about who has received the milk.
Here at Luton, we are currently working towards accreditation from the Baby Friendly Initiative. Working with the HMB helps support us to do this through improved education, awareness, and support. We’re also really excited about the research looking into the epigenetics of breast cancer risk, and we look forward to hearing more about this and all the other plans for research that the team has.
The Human Milk Foundation is proud that the Hearts Milk Bank can support families facing breastfeeding challenges by providing skilled support and access to screened donor milk. Since 2017, the HMB has supported hundreds of families facing feeding challenges. Families are often referred by a healthcare professional such as a GP, hospital doctor, midwife, health visitor or IBCLC.
Our aim has always been to ensure that our community infant feeding support service was underpinned by a process that ensured fairness and safety to this precious resource. To achieve this aim, we set up our Prioritisation Panel in 2019 and established a set of priorities and guidance on provision. You can read more who sits on the Prioritisation Panel and its ongoing work here.
Donor milk is prioritised according to four parameters: infant vulnerability (hospital DHM provision is always prioritised), maternal breastfeeding and psychological health, and milk bank supply/logistics. Sometimes these overlap, but they give the team a broad context to provide realistic expectations to families of what is possible.
If you are a healthcare provider working in the community and would like to inquire about using donor milk for either a sick baby or a mother who cannot breastfeed for medical reasons, please email us on info@heartsmilkbank.org.
Koan was born with a rare neurological condition called polymicrogyria and spent his first 2 months in NICU. After discharge, Koan was initially only feeding only through a nasogastric tube. Mum Shurron was initially unable to express enough of her own milk, so Koan received donor human milk whilst our team supported Shurron to initiate breastfeeding and build a full milk supply. Koan’s feeding improved and after only a few weeks, he was exclusively breastfeeding. Watch the beautiful video where Shurron and Kel talk about the impact of receiving donor milk.
For parents with milk which is surplus to their own baby’s needs, becoming a milk donor can be very rewarding. We aim to make the process as simple as possible, with support from our team at every stage. There are relatively few things that would prevent a parent from becoming a milk donor, but the following criteria apply:
We work with healthcare teams to enable parents greater access information about donating milk, so they may be able to make informed choices about how to use their surplus breast milk.
For parents who are unable to or do not wish to donate their surplus milk, we can provide advice and information on other ways it can be used, including our research programmes.
To speak to a member of our team about accessing resources to support parents to donate milk please email info@heartsmilkbank.org.
At the Hearts Milk Bank (HMB) we believe that every bereaved family should be given professional support and accurate information to help them make decisions about lactation and their breastmilk. This includes enabling mothers to choose whether to donate their milk. Some mothers find donating milk after the loss of their baby to be a comfort, representing as it does, a gift from both to other families and their babies. It can be viewed as a life-saving gift in memory of their baby. The impact of this can be very profound. We call our bereaved donors ‘Snowdrop donors’. Our charity emblem is the snowdrop flower – also known as the ‘milk flower’ which represents hope and love.
Donating milk is a very personal decision and this option does not suit everyone. Our team works closely with healthcare professionals to make sure bereaved families are aware of all of their options regarding their stored milk and their lactation, and that they are supported to make the choices that are right for them.
If you or your team would like to access our free training in supporting bereaved families to make choices about lactation, please contact our team on info@heartsmilkbank.org.
The safety of donor milk is a critical concern to every milk bank, and we have adopted the highest standards at the Hearts Milk Bank from the outset. Where innovation is needed to ensure safety throughout the process, we are working together with partner organisations to create a true centre of excellence.
Please read more about the safety processes that underpin our work here. We use a milk tracking system called Li-Lac, designed by industry leaders Savant. Savant designs a range of systems for healthcare settings, including the NHS Blood and Transplant Service.
For information on the NICE Guideline for the operation of a human milk bank (Guideline #93), please click here.
To read about the team of Expert Advisors who support the Hearts Milk Bank team, click here.
To read how supplies of donor human milk are prioritised, click here.
The HMF is working to create a Professional Development Framework for milk bank personnel. This Framework will ensure that all milk bank staff, from the junior technical service specialist to the most national service director, are appropriately trained, informed, and able to appreciate and work in any aspect of milk banking. Ongoing training and professional development is part of the commitment to each team member.
Crucially, the Framework will build towards the registration of milk banking as a profession in the UK, acknowledging the specialised knowledge and skills of milk bank staff, and create a career path to inspire the next generation.
Human Mpox was formerly known as Monkeypox. It is a rare disease caused by the Monkeypox virus (MPXV). The UK Health Security Agency the European Directive have issued the below statements on Mpox.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/monkeypox
https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/all-topics-z/monkeypox/factsheet-health-professionals
The current advice for milk banks is to exclude from donation anyone who is currently infected with or may be infected with mpox. All milk donors should therefore be carefully interviewed regarding their contacts with infected mpox cases (confirmed or suspected), infected animals, or travel to affected areas – including travel history to countries bordering countries affected by Clade I (the newer, more infectious type of mpox).
Please see the PDF guidance attached for more details.
The Hearts Milk Bank is committed to ensuring that donor human milk is used safely and appropriately within the context of optimal lactation support. To help support teams on neonatal units, we are developing a series of modules that can be accessed individually, giving staff the skills and information needed to maintain safe handling and answer all questions parents might have.
We can also provide resources for parents that can help support your work:
If you access DHM already from the Hearts Milk Bank, hospital staff can access online training modules and receive CPD points towards their own professional development. The following modules are available, but please get in touch if you would like to be kept posted when new ones launch:
If your unit does not use DHM from Hearts but would like to access training, please contact the team on info@humanmilkfoundation.org.
If you would like to arrange in person training or a seminar on the latest research on human milk banks, please email info@heartsmilkbank.org.
If you are interested in starting to use DHM from Hearts, read about our service provision here or contact the team directly on info@heartsmilkbank.org.
Breastfeeding has been one of the most transformative parts of my motherhood journey — not just in nourishing my own babies, but in being able to support others through the donation of over 100 litres of breast milk. It’s something I never imagined I’d do, especially since I wasn’t aware it was even possible during my first pregnancy.
But everything changed thanks to a conversation with a wonderful health visitor. She told me about the possibility of donating breast milk to help vulnerable babies in neonatal units. That one conversation opened a door to something incredibly meaningful.
When my eldest child was born he was extremely unwell with sepsis and meningitis. The doctors and nurses at Addenbrooke’s Hospital quite literally saved his life. So when I learned about milk donation, it felt like the perfect way to give back — to support other tiny, fragile lives who are fighting their own battles in NICUs, just like my baby once did. Every pouch of milk I donated was filled with love, purpose, and deep gratitude. Knowing that my milk was going to nourish premature and vulnerable babies made the long hours of pumping, storing, and delivering absolutely worth it. I genuinely loved donating. It gave me a sense of purpose and connection to a wider community of mothers and babies I may never meet, but will always care about.
