More on the MilkFront

Here is the communication I've had with Two Maids A'Milkin'


From: Suzanna Bennett
To: twomaids@nationalmilkbank.org
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2008 3:39 PM
Subject: Question about Milk Donation
I have a few questions about the milk I might be donating: -how much do you charge hospitals per ounce of milk? -do you and/or Prolacta make a profit on this milk? -how is the milk changed? In your paper work you said it was partially pasturized, but does it have things added to it? -is any of the milk used strictly for research purposes or is all of it sold to hospitals? Thank you for your prompt reply, Suzanna Bennett Donor: 6727

From: twomaids@nationalmilkbank.orgTo: suzannabennett@hotmail.comSubject: Re: Question about Milk DonationDate: Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:02:04 -0700
Hi Suzanna,
Thank you for the questions, and we have some answers.

1. We do not charge hospitals per ounce. We work with prolacta bioscince who is responsible for the distribution of the milk. The milk is then sent to hospitals who have preemie babies with a prescription from their NICU doctor. As with any prescription, insurance covers the cost.

2. Yes, we and Prolacta are for profit organizations due to the fact that we are not established under a hospital or medical facility. Government regulations make it extremely difficult to be a non-profit. The profits we make allow us to provide all of our donors with a cost free way to donate giving them pumps, endless storage bags and cost free shipping.

3. Here is a list of the processes the milk goes through before distirbution:
1. The milk is received at Prolacta Bioscience in reusable bio-friendly soy-based polyurethane coolers.
2. Once at Prolacta Bioscience, the milk is sampled for certain bacterium that does not die in pasteurization. If the certain bacterium is present, the milk goes towards research.
3. The milk is then tested for the presence of drugs of abuse.
4. Next, the DNA of the milk is matched to the donor’s cheek swab to ensure that the milk received came from the mother we tested. Our DNA machine matches 16 points of DNA, which is just enough to identify a person.
5. The milk of several donors are pooled together.
6. The milk protein is concentrated to over 7 times the protein that occurs in human breast milk.
7. Minerals such as calcium are added based on the guidelines set out by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
8. The concentrated milk is pasteurized (We follow the FDA guidelines called the Pasteurization Milk Ordnance.)
9. The milk is filled into bottles and frozen.
10. After filling, the product is tested for a full panel of bacteria (total bacteria, e. coli, staph, salmonella, bacillus cereus, coliforms, yeast, and mold.)
11. The product is also tested for viruses using PCR (polymerase chain reaction). This test checks for viruses by searching for the RNA of the viruses. It is much more accurate and can detect the viruses much earlier then the standard testing.
12. A full nutritional analysis is done on the milk (total calories, protein, fat, carbs, minerals, vitamins).
13. The product is shipped to NICUs (in the USA) in reusable bio-friendly soy-based polyurethane coolers and is used only under physician supervision. The human milk fortifier will be mixed with the premature baby’s mother’s milk. This is a great solution for the babies because they receive their mother’s milk while getting much needed extra protein from an all-human source.
4. Milk that is received and has become unthawed during its travel or if it has been donated for research strictly goes for research purposes. Otherwise the milk is used for preemies in the NICU. PLease note that the milk donated must go through such intense screenings to ensure safety for the preemies receiving it and the extensive processes do incur a cost that someone must pay for. Do we wish this was a non-profit? Yes. But for now there is no way around it. The milk donated cannot and is not sold to whomever thinks their baby needs breast milk. It is not in pharmacies for mother's off the street to pick up and purchase and we feel this is a much better option than mothers selling and purchasing milk on Ebay.

If you have any other questions, or need anything else, please email or call. Have a blessed day.

Danielle
National Milk Bank

From: Suzanna Bennett
More questions for your answers:
1. How much does prolacta charge for the milk? What is the cost of processing vs. the price it is sold for? How do you know that insurance is covering the cost? Most if not all prescriptions are only partially covered, or not covered at all. I have had this problem myself many times, as I'm sure you have.
2. I know the government can make things difficult, but aren't there other milk banks that ARE non-profit? So there must be a way if you really want to be non-profit. I was surprised that you provided pumps, etc. Does it take all of your profits to provide these things?

3. The processes seem to really help regulate the milk and make it safer for the babies. What is the bacterium that Prolacta tests for, and what research are they doing with that milk. Would I be informed if this bacterium is found in my milk? How is the protein concentrated? What other minerals are added? Doesn't the milk already have these minerals, isn't that why it is better for babies than formula? Isn’t the breast milk better, because it's minerals are absorbed much easier than those found in formula? Could adding these in effect the absorption of the naturally occurring minerals? If the human milk fortifier is added to Mother's milk, what about babies whose mother's do not have any milk? Do they mix it with formula?

4. What kind of research is done with the milk?

I am asking these questions because I feel I have been misled by you. Your information packet did not state these things. You say on your website that "We strive to make quality human breast milk available to all premature and critically-ill babies." Available is a very vague word, it definitely does not imply that it is sold for profit. I think that you are leading women like me to believe you are non-profit, even though you are not. By omission you have misrepresented your company. Even if you are truly dedicated to helping these babies, you are not being honest with your donors. To be clear: I do NOT have a problem with breast milk being sold. I think that if someone wants to give their child another mother's milk, and is willing to pay for it, that's fine. My problem here is your lack of forthrightness. If you are selling milk for profit, you need to compensate your "donors", at the very least they need to know EXACTLY what you are doing with their hard pumped milk.

Thanks for your prompt response,
Suzanna Bennett

From: twomaids@nationalmilkbank.orgTo: suzannabennett@hotmail.comSubject: Re: Question about Milk DonationDate: Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:58:50 -0700
Hi Suzanna,
Many of the questions you have asked, we do not have answers for. We are strictly the facilitators for Prolacta in getting qualified milk from qualified donors from one place across the U.S. to another. In response to your questions please see the list below.

1. We do not know how much prolacta charges for the milk, that is something you will have to contact Prolacta with. Their phone number is 626-599-9260 and their web address is www.prolacta.com. They should be able to answer this question better than we can. Again, the same goes for the cost of processing vs. price sold for. We do not know these things and Prolacta should be able to help. I have actually never had a problem with insurance covering all costs of prescriptions, but again this is something Prolacta has worked out with the hospitals it distributes to as well as insurance companies.

2. Yes, some milk banks are non-profit, but like I mentioned before they are already established under a hospital or medical facility. The existing medical facilities besides government also make it difficult to set up as a non-profit if they do not want any competition in the area.

3. We do not know what bacteriums Prolacta tests for and again that is something you would have to contact them for if you would like more information about the specific bacteriums. We are notified however of any problems, concerns or questions about the milk and are then able to notify the donor. This is very rare. The remaining questions, all still refer to Prolacta knowledge not ours. We are just the facilitators.

4. Research again is in Prolacta's knowledge department. I am sorry you feel like you have been misled. We consider ourselves an open book. Please know that this is not my personal company and have not misrepresented anyone. Please also know that we, the National Milk Bank are not the ones selling the breastmilk directly to the mothers and therefore do not have the monies to compensate our donors. The breast pumps are theirs to keep and worth a substantial amount to be what someone else may consider compensation. The donor supplies do not take all of our profits, but we do have employees that are working for us and need to be paid as well, just like a blood bank and even the American Red Cross.

At this point if you would like to continue the donation process with us, we would be glad to have you on board, but if you are feeling any different, you may want to consider the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA). They are able to sell the donated milk to whomever is in need.

If you have any other needs, please let us know.
Have a blessed day.
DanielleNational Milk Bank

Today I sent:
Danielle-
I appreciate you taking the time to respond to me. It is unfortunate that you do not know the information I requested. It seems like important knowledge to have considering you "facilitate" for Prolacta. If you are their link to donors it would behoove both Two Maids and Prolacta for you to have all of the facts. I didn't expect you to admit to misleading me, but your "open book" has alot of missing pages. Apparently Prolacta doesn't know the answers to these questions either. I called them and got less help than from you. This all seems so deceptive and calculating. I think I need to take my milk somewhere else...maybe ebay.

I was so disappointed, but I should have known the responses would be like this. I did take her advice and I called Prolacta. The woman I talked to said she had no idea how much they sold the milk for, but she could give me the phone numbers for hospitals they supply and ask them. She didn't know what research is done with the unusable milk. In order for me to talk to a sales team member I would need to leave my phone number, because they were "outside". I finally got out of her that she was not in a building with any of the researchers, sales people, or anyone else that knew about the company. So the Two Maids are in their own building, the receptionists for Prolacta are in their own building, I wonder how many buildings it takes to process the milk? No wonder they are for profit...that's alot of overhead!