The 29-year-old Comprehensive Lactation Management Centre (CLMC) at the civic-run Sion Hospital, also known to be Asia’s first milk bank, has received a massive makeover. From bigger storage units to better pasteurization equipment, the milk bank now boasts of international standards.
Dr. Jayashree Mondkar, Sion Hospital Dean and CLMC in-charge says the main focus of the centre is breastfeeding and milk banking and bridging the gap between the two. “Mother’s milk is best for the baby, but if [breastfeeding] is not possible, the next best option is to use a donor mother’s milk, which is where the CLMC comes in. To ensure that the donor milk is safe for the baby, we pasteurise and put it through a series of tests before it is given to one. There is a vigorous donor screening process,” she said.
At times, a mother is unable to breastfeed for two to three weeks. “This could be due to delivery-related issues, the mother’s poor health, convulsions, and sometimes as the child is transferred to other hospitals. For that time we use these milk banks to provide the baby the needed nutrition,” Dr. Mondkar said.
The makeover was carried out by Philips India in collaboration with PATH, a non-profit organisation. It involved revamping the centre’s entire infrastructure, setting up bigger storage units, new machines, and a new deep freezer. Earlier, the centre used to heat and cool the milk separately during testing, now a new machine does the whole process, saving time.
Of the 12,000 deliveries that take place in Sion Hospital every year, nearly 3000 babies require milk from the bank. Philips India and PATH are now collaborating to set up four more CLMCs across India.
Neeraj Jain, country director, PATH, said that as a part of integrated new-born care, the facility maintains the highest ethical standards. “It aims to become the gold standard in creating a supportive ecosystem for good breastfeeding practices and providing safe and high-quality donor milk to infants.” he said.
