A Landscape Analysis of Human Milk Banks in India

Abstract

To evaluate the existing status of human milk banks in India with reference to infrastructure, human resources, funding mechanisms, operating procedures and quality assurance. A pretested questionnaire was administered to 16 out of 22 human milk banks across India, operational for more than one year prior to commencing the study. 11 (69%) milk banks were in government or charitable hospitals; only 2 (12.5%) were established with government funding. 8 (50%) had a dedicated technician and only 1(6%) had more than five lactation counsellors. Milk was collected predominantly from mothers of sick babies and in postnatal care wards followed by pediatric outpatient departments, camps, satellite centers, and homes. 10 (63%) reported gaps between donor milk demand and supply. 12 (75%) used shaker water bath pasteurizer and cooled the milk manually without monitoring temperature, and 4 (25%) pooled milk under the laminar airflow. 10 (63%) tracked donor to recipient and almost all did not collect data on early initiation, exclusive breastfeeding or human milk feeding. Our study reports the gaps of milk banking practices in India, which need to be addressed for strengthening them. Gaps include suboptimal financial support from the government, shortage of key human resources, processes and data gaps, and demand supply gap of donor human milk.