Our Mission

PURPOSE

Mothers' Milk Bank of Tennessee is dedicated to providing safe, pasteurized donor human milk to the most vulnerable babies. Natural, safe pasteurized human milk (PDHM) is needed because it has been shown to decrease the incidence of life-threatening newborn infections. In fact, recent studies proved the use of only human milk to feed preterm and low birth weight infants reduced mortality by 75%.

RECIPIENTS

Pasteurized Donor Human Milk (PDHM) is prioritized for the smallest and most medically fragile babies.

Screening

Mothers with excess milk complete a screening process which includes an application, medical screening, blood test and physician's consent.

Donating

Once a donor is approved to donate, she delivers her milk frozen to one of our Milk Drop Depots located across the state.

Processing

The donor milk is then transferred to Mothers' Milk Bank of Tennessee's facility in Murfreesboro where it is filtered, mixed, pasteurized, cultured, and bottled.

Dispensing

Once the processing is complete, the Pasteurized Human Donor Milk (PHDM) is bottled and distributed to hospital NICUs across Tennessee where it is dispensed to vulnerable and medically fragile infants.

Pasteurized Donor Human Milk
(PDHM)

What is Pasteurized Donor Human Milk?

Pasteurized donor human milk (PDHM) is donated breast milk that has been screened, pooled, and tested so that it can be dispensed to medically fragile and vulnerable infants. Pasteurization eliminates harmful bacteria or other potential infecting organisms. A small number of nutritional elements are lost in the pasteurization process; however donor milk has been proven to be the second-best choice after mothers’ own breast milk.

Is Pasteurized Donor Human Milk safe?

Our top priority is to dispense the safest Pasteurized Donor Human Milk (PDHM). We are proud to be recognized as an accredited member of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA) and registered with the FDA. HMBANA guidelines provide evidence-based direction to support the screening, handling, and distribution of safe PDHM that saves lives.