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Mother’s milk donor recruitment
Mothers’ milk comes from volunteer donors who have an excess of milk and whose medical and social backgrounds have not revealed a risk of transmitting infectious agents. By rigorously screening donors, doing laboratory tests, and pasteurizing the mothers’ milk received, Héma-Québec strives to provide an optimal-quality product.
A medicine for the most vulnerable
Did you know that mothers’ milk is used as a medicine? The product’s components protect premature infants from intestinal diseases that can be fatal. In Québec, roughly 3,000 litres of milk are needed every year to produce the 19,000 bottles that Héma-Québec distributes to its partner hospitals in order to meet the needs of roughly 1,000 premature infants. To achieve these objectives, the organization must recruit approximately 300 donors every year.
A decisive contribution
Front-line workers can play a critical role for the Public Mothers’ Milk Bank by promoting mothers’ milk donation among mothers with excess milk. Héma-Québec has created tools to help them contribute to the recruiting of donors.
Material available for the mother
- regnancy follow up folder, including the Breast Milk Donation Guide
Promotional tools
- 11” x 17” Public Mother’s Milk Bank Poster
- 8 ½” x 11” Poster (for plexiglass counter display)
- Breast milk donation leaflet
- Scannable registration card (QR code) that leads to the online registration form
Order material
To order promotional material, email or fax the filled out document Order form - Public mother’s milk bank:
- Fax: 514 832-0266
- Email: mothersmilk@hema-quebec.qc.ca
Donor registration and qualification
To register as a donor in the Public Mothers’ Milk Bank, a mother with excess production must fill out the form online..
Once the health questionnaire has been completed with the donor, a blood sample is taken to screen for the following infectious diseases:
- Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
- Human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV I/II)
- Hepatitis B virus (HBV)
- Hepatitis C virus (HCV)
- Syphilis
The milk from several donors is pooled and then undergoes a sterility test after pasteurization and before freezing, to ensure that it is free of any microbial contaminants.