Mother's Milk Cooperative Information

Mission: Breast milk is important for every baby, but can mean the difference between life and death for premature infants. The Mother's Milk Co-op was formed to address the global shortage of donor breast milk critical for use in neonatal intensive care units. This shortage has resulted from the increased use of donor human milk for preterm babies driven by a growing body of medical evidence. Description: Founded in 2013, the Mothers Milk Cooperative is dedicated to solving the critical shortage of donor milk which is negatively impacting the lives of premature infants globally. It is the only milk bank owned by donors, with the only paid milk donation program in the United States, dubbed "Milk Money", a philanthropic program, "Pay It Forward", and a combination of the two initiatives, "50/50". General Information: The Co-op's mission to increase the donor milk supply is in alignment with recommendations made in the Surgeon General's Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding, the US Health and Human Services AHRQ Evidence Report, and The Global Action Report on Preterm Birth recently released by The March of Dimes, Save the Children and The WHO. All milk donors will undergo stringent qualification steps including medical history evaluations, blood screening, and milk quality and safety testing before the milk is professionally processed.