The Human Milk Foundation (HMF) and Lowestoft and Waveney Breastfeeding Support
(LWBS) are delighted to announce a partnership that will see a donor human milk hub open
in Suffolk for the first time. The Human Milk Foundation provides donor human milk to sick
premature babies in hospital neonatal intensive care units across England & Wales and
supports families at home through the Hearts Milk Bank. LWBS provide breastfeeding
support to local families through community breastfeeding cafes, home visits from lactation
specialists (IBCLCs) and the loan of breast pumps.
The hub launch at Waterlane Leisure Centre will take place on Sunday 6th July and will be
attended by representatives from HMF and LWBS along with healthcare professionals,
volunteers, families, milk donors and Blood Bikers. The Mayor of Lowestoft Councillor
Nasima Begum and Kate Quilton - TV presenter who has supported the HMF since its
inception, will officially cut the ribbon to open the hub.
Established in 2017, The Hearts Milk Bank is the largest non-profit human milk bank in the
country, supplying donor milk to over 50 NHS Trusts and supporting hundreds of families in
the community. The donor milk hub in Lowestoft will be the seventh Hearts Milk Bank hub
to open in the UK and will be located at Waterlane Leisure Centre. The hub will enable more
local parents to donate their surplus breast milk to the Hearts Milk Bank, which will help
other families in need. Donor human milk can now be efficiently transported from the hub
to local hospital neonatal intensive care units such as James Paget Hospital, where it is used
to feed sick, premature babies who do not have access to their own mother’s milk.
Much like donated human blood, donor human milk can help save lives. When babies are
born prematurely, receiving their own mother’s milk helps protect them against life threatening infections and supports their growth and development. However, if a baby is born early, sometimes their mother may be unable to provide enough of her own milk
straight away. In this situation, donor human milk can act as a bridge, giving mum time and
support to establish her own milk supply, and enabling baby to be fed with exclusively
human milk which can help save lives.
Milk donors are breastfeeding mothers with more milk than their own baby needs. All milk
donors undergo blood tests and lifestyle screening before their donated milk can be
accepted. The Hearts Milk Bank works in partnership with the SERV ‘Blood Biker’ Volunteer
network, who collect donor milk from donors at home and bring it to the Hearts Milk Bank
laboratory in Hertfordshire, where it is pasteurised and screened by microbiology to ensure
it is safe for the most vulnerable babies in hospital. Once the donor milk has passed these
checks, it will then be transported back to the hub in Lowestoft where it will be stored in
special medical grade freezers, ready to go out to babies in need.
These specialist freezers were purchased with the generous support of a grant from The
Alexa Trust. Founded in memory of Alexa James, a premature baby born in 2015. Driven by
their personal experience of loss, the charity’s mission is to turn this heartbreaking loss into
something positive by providing practical help and financial support to families navigating
the challenges of having a baby in neonatal care.
Felicity Webster, Director of Communications at the Human Milk Foundation said, “We are
grateful to LWBS, Waterlane Leisure Centre, The Alexa Trust and James Paget University
Hospital for their support which has enabled our Lowestoft donor milk hub to open. The
Human Milk Foundation’s mission is to build a truly equitable service to enable families to
donate and access donor human milk for their babies, free at the point of need, wherever
they live within England & Wales. We are delighted to be working in partnership with LWBS
to support more families in East Anglia.”
Kaya, CEO at LWBS said “We are grateful for the support given by the James Paget University
Hospital, The Alexa Trust and Waterlane Leisure Centre to enable this collaboration. We are
excited for the benefits this will bring to local families and continue committed to supporting
all families who wish to donate breastmilk to have equal access to support and the tools
they need. We are looking forward to launching the hub and working with the Human Milk
Foundation going forward.”
To find out more about the Hearts Milk Bank and Human Milk Foundation charity go to:
https://humanmilkfoundation.org/