Press Releases
INDUSTRY, CA. Aug. 29, 2013 – Prolacta Bioscience, the leader in human milk nutrition for premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), today announced that they have made an additional shipment of pasteurized human milk for the International Breast Milk Project (IBMP). The donated services include conducting the qualification of milk donors as well as the safety and quality testing of the donor milk and pasteurization. The breast milk is sent to milk banks in South Africa for infants suffering from malnourishment, hunger and life-threatening illnesses.
This shipment of donor breast milk is to be utilized by premature, sick and orphaned infants in South Africa. The Cape Town and Durban based non-profits, Milk Matters and iThemba Lethu, distribute donor breast milk to over 25 major hospitals and two orphan homes for children affected by AIDS, helping save the lives of premature, and sick babies.
"I have an abiding sense of relief whenever we are able to give a preterm baby breast milk,” said Mark Richards, a pediatrician at New Somerset Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. “To have recourse to a donated milk resource is no less than a lifesaving service. Thank you to International Breast Milk Project for your life-saving support."
The breast milk processed for shipment was donated through the International Breast Milk Project Milk Bank, which is operated by Prolacta Bioscience. The donor milk program allows mothers to donate from the comfort of their homes, and the family doesn’t incur any out-of-pocket expenses. The initial screening is done online, certified phlebotomists come to the mother’s home, and all of the storage and shipping supplies are sent directly to the mom. Shipment pick-up is then arranged so that mother and baby won’t be burdened by having to drive the shipment coolers anywhere. Quick International Courier, a global priority transportation organization, will be donating the shipping services and logistics planning from the U.S. to South Africa.
Under a five-year agreement, which began November 1, 2010, Prolacta donates the processing of donor human breast milk to be shipped to Africa for infants in need. The agreement between Prolacta and IBMP is for donated milk up to 600,000 ounces annually. Within each year, when 100,000 to 400,000 ounces of donor milk is collected by the IBMP Milk Bank, 25% of that milk will be processed for shipment to Africa. The remaining 75% will remain in the United States and will be used by Prolacta to make a Human Milk Fortifier (HMF) for critically ill and premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). This HMF is the only available HMF made from human breast milk, as opposed to cow milk. For every ounce of milk that remains in the U.S., Prolacta pays IBMP one dollar. The breast milk donations are made through the IBMP Milk Bank, which is operated by Prolacta Bioscience. To date, Prolacta has donated nearly $650,000 to IBMP.
Prolacta is setting the new standard of safety and quality in human milk processing, with a pharmaceutical-grade manufacturing facility that is the first and only of its kind worldwide. Additionally, Prolacta is the only organization that includes a safety combination of DNA matching of mom to milk, testing for drugs and other contamination, as well as HIV-1, HCV, and HBV through PCR testing to ensure the highest-quality available human milk products to feed the sickest infants in hospital NICUs. Prolacta’s advanced technology provides for an unmatched margin of safety to protect from potential transmission of virus. Please join in on the conversation about Prolacta.
About Prolacta Bioscience
Prolacta Bioscience, Inc., www.prolacta.com, is a life science company dedicated to improving quality of life by Advancing the Science of Human Milk®. Prolacta creates specialty formulations made exclusively from human milk for the nutritional needs of critically ill, premature infants in NICU. It is the first and only company to provide a commercially available human milk fortifier made from 100% human milk, Prolact+ H2MF. Prolacta operates a pharmaceutical grade processing plant and designed and patented processes that enable them to make their one-of-a-kind products. Prolacta is committed to making a meaningful difference in the lives of the most vulnerable premature babies through world-class research and innovative products.
About IBMP
International Breast Milk Project is the only organization in the world to provide large provisions of donor breast milk to infants suffering from HIV/AIDS, malnourishment, poverty and disease in Africa. As of this year, IBMP has provided over 300,000 ounces, or 79,000 bottles, of life-giving donor breast milk to infants in South Africa.
Media Contact:
Loren Kosmont
Lkosmont@prolacta.com
310-721-9444