Jennifer Smith's daughter Catherine, who was born at 29-weeks gestation on 14 April, recently became the first baby to receive donated breast milk through a new program at Lyell McEwin Hospital.

The Breast Milk Bank program is a partnership between Northern Adelaide Local Health Network and the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood and offers pasteurised donor breast milk to vulnerable babies.

“The past few weeks have been incredibly challenging as I split my time between visiting Catherine in the special care nursery and also caring for my two other children at home,” Ms Smith said.

“I am thankful to Lyell McEwin Hospital and Lifeblood for taking one stress away by ensuring Catherine had access to this important milk to help with her development.”

The Breast Milk Bank program has been running at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital and Flinders Medical Centre since 2018.

Across Australia, around 1 in 10 babies are born prematurely each year, which can make them vulnerable to health challenges.

Necrotizing entercolitis (NEC) is a serious gastrointestinal condition that tends to only affect premature infants, but research shows that breast milk can help in its prevention.

More than 100 South Australian mothers donate their excess breast milk to support about 2000 vulnerable newborns across the country each year. About 363 litres of the donated milk is supplied to babies here in SA.

Eligible donors complete a lifestyle questionnaire and have a blood test to ensure it is safe for them to donate their milk. Their surplus milk is collected by a member of the Lifeblood team and then taken to a processing centre to be tested, pasteurised to eliminate any bacteria or viruses, and then frozen and stored ready to be sent out to health facilities.

Breast milk donor Crystal Swiggs, from Hope Valley, decided to donate her breast milk after a friend told her about the program.

“After giving birth to my son Oscar at Lyell McEwin Hospital 13 months ago, I found that I had a large surplus of breast milk after each feed … and I ended up donating almost 120 litres of my milk over 11 months,” she said.

Lifeblood Chief Executive Officer Stephen Cornelissen said donated breast milk could be life-changing for premature or sick babies.

“Demand for donated breast milk has risen 15 per cent in the past year and is expected to continue to grow a further 10 per cent in 2023," Mr Cornelissen said.

For more information about the program, visit Lifeblood or call 13 14 95.