Life-saving breast milk: Floridsdorf Clinic is urgently looking for donations!

Life-saving breast milk: Floridsdorf Clinic is urgently looking for donations!

An important topic is currently being discussed in Vienna: the supply of breast milk to premature babies. The Ministry of Health recently emphasized that newborns' own breast milk is not necessarily necessary for optimal nutrition - donor milk also provides valuable services. As heute.at reports, human milk banks are key to providing this vital resource.

The Floridsdorf Clinic is the only hospital in Austria that offers donor milk for premature babies and in other children's departments. There is an urgent need for the health system here, as donor milk is currently being sought, similar to blood donations. Mothers from a radius of 180 kilometers, including Lower Austria, can donate their milk. If there are sufficient supplies, the milk is even sold to private individuals, but only with a doctor's referral.

The importance of donor milk

Breast milk has numerous health benefits, especially for premature babies. In Germany, where around 9,300 premature babies are born each year with a birth weight of less than 1,500 grams, it has been shown that breast milk significantly reduces the risk of complicating diseases such as necrotizing enterocolitis (NEK). This disease affects around three percent of premature babies and can result in up to 50 percent mortality in those affected. Therefore, as geo.de also reports, the use of donated breast milk is of immense importance as it reduces the risk of NEK by around half.

Excess breast milk has been collected in Vienna since 1908. There are currently a total of seven centers with human milk banks in Austria, three of them in Lower Austria. Last year, around 2,300 liters of breast milk were collected at the Floridsdorf clinic. The city of Vienna is making a name for itself not only in Austria, but also in German-speaking countries: together with Dresden, it is the only city that allows the sale of donor milk to private individuals.

This is how a breast milk bank works

What exactly happens in a breast milk bank? Human milk banks collect, screen, process, store and distribute donated milk. Healthy breastfeeding women who donate their excess milk undergo rigorous testing to ensure the milk is free of infectious diseases. After donation, the milk is pasteurized and then frozen. These processes ensure that your valuable donation reaches the small recipients in perfect quality.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends using donor milk as the best alternative when mothers cannot breastfeed. Breast milk contains valuable antibodies and nutrients that are particularly crucial for sick or weak babies. To ensure that donors meet the necessary criteria, health-conscious guidelines are in place. These assessments include testing for hepatitis and HIV, as well as recommendations for proper collection and storage of breast milk, as outlined on healthokay.info.

The Floridsdorf Clinic strongly calls for milk donations - this shows not only the solidarity of the community, but also the significant influence that donated breast milk has on the survival and health of the smallest members of our society. Anyone who wants to help not only has the well-being of premature babies in mind, but also makes a valuable contribution to society.