Mercy Milk Donor Program

Babies who are in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Mercy Medical Center Redding receive specialized, as well as highly-attentive, care. In order to help them to grow and thrive, if babies are less than 3 pounds, we strive to provide donor milk for those who may not be able to receive milk from their mother. You can help.

What Is The Donor Milk Program?

If you are a nursing mother that has a milk supply in excess of what your baby needs, you can help other babies and mothers who need it. Mothers of premature babies often can’t produce the amount of milk needed. By donating your breast milk, you can provide potentially life-sustaining benefits to the babies fighting for their lives.

The Mercy Donor Milk Program is operated by Prolacta Bioscience. Prolacta tests and processes all donated milk in order to supply premature babies with an exclusive 100% human milk diet. Donating milk is done in the privacy of your home. Once you are qualified as a donor, Prolacta provides breast milk storage bags as well as shipping coolers with pre-paid shipping labels. Every shipment they receive is cross-matched with that donor's DNA profile, screened for bacteria, and tested for drugs of abuse and other substances. It is then pasteurized, labeled with nutritional value and sold to our NICU.

100% human milk-based diets help to support the developing immune system and provides essential nutrients for extremely premature infants in the NICU.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends the use of human milk for all preterm infants. 

Helping Babies Grow Strong 

Breast milk helps all babies to grow healthy and strong.

  • It supplies necessary nutrients in proper proportions.
  • It protects against allergies, sickness, and obesity.
  • It protects against diseases, like diabetes and cancer.
  • It protects against infections, including ear infections.
  • Is easily digested.

Plus babies who receive breast milk achieve healthier weights as they grow.

Become A Donor

To get started, visit this webpage.

  • Complete and pass the medical and lifestyle history questionnaire
  • Obtain health confirmation from your physician and your baby’s pediatrician 
  • Pass a blood test for HIV 1 and 2, HBV, HTLV I & II, HCV and syphilis
  • Provide a cheek swab to establish DNA profile
  • Verify acceptable freezer temperature 

Learn More About The Mercy Donor Milk Program At Mercy Medical Center Redding

For more information about the Mercy Donor Milk Program, visit the Prolacta donor milk program.