The Milk Bank, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit that donates breast milk to babies with medical need, saw a jump in donations last year as home and hospital demand expanded.
Milk Bank advancement director Jenna Streit said that in 2021, the nonprofit received breast milk from more than 800 donors. In 2022, their donor count jumped to over 1,000.
Read More: Donations to Indiana's only milk bank for infants aren't keeping up with increased demand
Last year, they dispensed 14 percent more ounces than 2021.
“If we hadn't seen the response from milk donors, from advocates, from financial supporters last year, we would have gone into triage mode," she said. "So we would have been limiting milk to the most fragile infants.”
Streit said The Milk Bank saw a 31 percent increase in babies it served at home in 2022, which is largely attributed to formula shortages.
She added the increased donations meant it was able to fill all the orders placed last year for more than 1,000 babies at home and 76 hospital units.
Read More: The nationwide formula shortage is fueling a spike in demand at breast milk banks
“There's only one percent of the population is lactating at any point and is even a possible candidate for that," Streit said. "So we're always monitoring diligently the balance between supply and demand.”
Streit said The Milk Bank is in a good spot right now and has increased staff and operations to process more donations.
