Rajasthan govt. opens mother’s milk bank

Rajasthan’s first State-run human milk bank, “Jeevan Dhara”, was inaugurated by Health Minister Rajendra Rathore at the Mahila Chikitsalaya here on Thursday. He said the government would set up such banks across the State.

The first mother’s milk bank in the State was started by a non-governmental organisation in a government hospital in Udaipur.

“Jeevan Dhara” has been started in collaboration with the Norwegian government and JK Lon Hospital, and aims to collect excess breast milk from lactating mothers and provide it to infants deprived of it.

Mr. Rathore said the bank would follow international guidelines to ensure safety in the collection and supply of breast milk. The infant morality rate in Rajasthan is 47 per 1,000 live births, which is expected to come down substantially when infants get breast milk.

Even as the concept of human milk bank is picking up, experts have warned of the harmful effects of its online buying. The online market in human milk, growing fastest in the U.S., is now gaining popularity elsewhere, largely among mothers ineligible for milk from milk banks. Although a narrow group of adult consumers (including people with cancer, gym enthusiasts and fetishists) buy milk online, most buyers are parents who require milk for their infants. In countries such as the U.S., where milk banks charge up to $4 (Rs. 250) an ounce (0.03 litre), online milk is often the cheaper option.

Unlike regulated banks, online sellers do not incur any expense on pasteurisation and testing for disease or contamination. Collection, storage and shipping requirements are negotiated between buyer and seller, enabling lower prices. These cost-saving measures lead to a high risk of communicable disease transmission, contamination, and tampering, said an article in the latest edition of the

British Medical Journal .

Unlike donors at licensed milk banks, online sellers are not required to undergo any serological screening — meaning diseases such as Hepatitis B and C, HIV, human T cell lymphotropic virus, and syphilis may go undetected. One study found that 21 per cent of the samples bought online tested positive for cytomegalovirus, compared with only five per cent of bank samples.

The article recommended urgent implementation of regulations to ensure the safety and quality of human milk and safe collection, processing, shipping and quality.

With Jeevan Dhara, govt. hopes to bring down infant morality rate