The Western Trust’s Human Milk Bank service based at the South West Acute Hospital, Enniskillen is making an urgent appeal for more donor mums to come forward and help to provide essential lifesaving donor breast milk for babies in neonatal units.

Elizabeth (Liz) Bailie, Human Milk Bank Co-ordinator expressed her thanks to all our Human Milk Bank donors for their support she said: “We are indebted to our donor mums who have continued to provide essential donor breast milk for babies in neonatal and surgical units in hospitals throughout Ireland.

“The Human Milk Bank staff are working very hard to ensure this vital service remains available to all our vulnerable premature and surgical babies, particularly at the start of a New Year. We know as from previous years this can be a time when neonatal units require additional stocks of donor expressed breast milk.”

Liz added: “It has been another very busy year for the Human Milk Bank Service, in 2022 we received 1,140 litres of donor breast milk which was sent to neonatal units in hospitals throughout Ireland.

“This precious lifesaving donor milk has helped 1,004 premature babies, of which 279 were either a twin or a triplet. Breast milk gives premature and sick babies the best possible start in life as it helps build their immune system, their eye and brain development and prevent Necrotising Enterocolitis (NEC), which is a devastating intestinal disease which affects premature or low birth babies.

“I would appeal to expectant mums to consider becoming a donor and for our donor mums to spread the word about the Human Milk Bank.”

Donor recipient mum Sherrilea Gilbride from Enniskillen said: “My baby daughter Isla (pictured baove) received donor human breast milk for the first week of her life whilst she was in the neonatal unit at the South West Acute Hospital in 2021.

“I am so grateful to the donor mums who have kindly donated their precious breast milk to help Isla when she was born and required support in the neonatal unit. Knowing that Isla was getting the very best start in her very young life gave me the peace of mind to focus on bonding with my daughter and allowed me the time to establish my own breastmilk.

“I was able to successfully breastfeed Isla and I cannot thank the staff at the Human Milk Bank enough for what they do in – it is a lifesaving service. Isla is thriving and is a happy, healthy 15 month old and keeping me very busy.”

If you would like to find out more about the Human Milk Bank and becoming a donor please contact the Human Milk Bank on Tel: (028) 68628333 or email tmb.swah@westerntrust.hscni.net