Follow the Milk

In order to protect our fragile population, donated milk goes through an extensive process prior to being shipped. Find out what our milk goes through.

Donation: Mothers drop off milk at various depot sites  throughout the state. Milk is then transferred to our lab at The Mother's Milk Bank of South Carolina.

Cleaning: Everything in the pasteurization room is cleaned every day, multiple times a day to avoid contamination. Procedures ensure lab is in accordance with HMBANA guidelines.

Pouring:  After milk is thawed, mom's milk is pooled together with other milk and becomes a 'batch'.

Bottling: Milk is poured into BPA-free bottles that are tamper-evident for pasteurization.

Pasteurizing: Milk is heated to 62.5°C for 30 minutes. This process kills bacteria that could be harmful to infants, BUT retains most of the beneficial components of mothers milk! 

Bacteria Testing:  A culture of milk is taken to the lab to verify it is free of bacteria.

Freezing: The milk is stored in a deep freeze until a hospital request arrives!