Got breast milk? Edmonton hospital opens depot for moms who want to donate

EDMONTON – An Edmonton hospital is accepting donations of human breast milk to help premature babies.

Bottles of milk will be kept in a freezer at the Grey Nuns Community Hospital before they’re shipped to Calgary for pasteurization at the Mothers’ Milk Bank.

The bank’s executive director, Jannette Festival, says the Edmonton depot makes it easier for women in northern Alberta to donate and it saves on courier costs.

She says the non-profit bank has approved 70 donors since it opened in April and another 90 women are applying.

Women who want to donate their milk must first be screened and get their blood tested.

Hospitals get the milk for tiny babies whose mothers are unable to breast feed since studies show milk is better than formula at fighting disease and infection.

Canada’s only other milk bank is in the B.C. Women’s Hospital and Health Centre in Vancouver.