We wanted to remind you of a fantastic resource available to mothers of infants in our area: Mothers Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes. This organization coordinates both drop off and purchases for donated breast milk. With multiple convenient locations available in both Illinois and Wisconsin, both donating and accessing safe, thoroughly-screened milk is efficient and trustworthy. Here are the steps to become a donor, pulled directly from their website:
Donor Application Process
1. Complete the online donor interest form. We will reach out to complete a 10-15 minute phone screening. This “prescreen” will cover general health information, milk storage, lifestyle factors, and more. If you are a candidate for donation, we will send you our full donor application.
2. Complete the full donor application and consent forms. Please include as much detail as possible! We will review the application and contact your medical providers.
3. Milk Bank WGL will arrange for blood testing at no cost to you. It typically takes up to 7 business days to get your results.
4. Once you are approved, we will give you a donor number! You can expect a call from one of our donor screeners with your donor number and drop off instructions. We will help you find a convenient depot location to drop off your frozen breast milk or find other shipping/transport options.
The screening process takes 3-4 weeks to complete. Our goal is to make the screening process as convenient as possible for our donors!
Once Upon a Lullaby is an approved milk depot, and we would love to connect with you for either milk purchase or donation! Simply reach out to us at info@onceuponalullaby.net, or connect with the milk bank directly at 847-262-5134 or info@milkbankwgl.org.
For general information, you can visit their website at https://www.milkbankwgl.org
Photo credit: Mothers Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes Facebook page