This article was originally published in the November 2024 edition of Héma-Québec’s Magazine.

Catherine, cord blood and mother’s milk eligibility coordinator

No donation is too small!

Whether you donate one bottle or one hundred bottles to the Public Mothers’ Milk Bank, each and every breast milk donor lends a helping hand to Québec’s preemies.

Catherine Gallipoli is Héma-Québec’s Cord Blood and Mother’s Milk Eligibility Coordinator. In other words, her work for the Public Mothers’ Milk Bank involves confirming whether mothers who sign up to join the Bank are in fact eligible to donate.

This starts with a health screening questionnaire over the phone. Catherine makes sure that the mother is in good health and doesn’t take any medications that would disqualify her. After confirming everything’s in order, she is there to help donors with each step of the donation journey, which can last until baby’s first birthday. And since some moms donate to the Bank every time they have a baby, she might work with the same mother multiple times!

The many paths to breast milk donation

As a trained nursing assistant, Catherine first started working at Héma-Québec on blood drives. After five or six years driving around the province, she was presented with an opportunity to move into the lesser-known mother’s milk and cord blood sectors, and she jumped at it!

In this role, Catherine is in direct contact with donors, so she has great insight into what motivates them to donate their breast milk.

“Some donors donate because they had a preemie who received milk from the Bank. That’s what drives them to donate. They get really involved and often donate large volumes of milk. Other donors just feel so lucky that they want to share the blessing.”

A gift that helps little ones grow big and strong

Like everyone involved in this moving chain of mothers supporting mothers, Catherine Gallipoli is extremely passionate about this part of her job.

“It’s so important to spread the word and tell mothers about the Bank. It’s such a good cause! Though donating can be time-consuming, it’s totally doable with a routine—and it’s more than gratifying. I’d love for mothers to know that it’s something they can do and be a part of. Anyone can do it—as long as you’re eligible, of course. But there’s no minimum requirements for how much you donate. No donation is too small!”

And it’s true—in the world of very premature babies (babies born before 32 weeks of pregnancy), the patients are the ones that are too small. Every drop of breast milk adds up to help them grow big and strong!