random donor milk

[prmc61]

Do any of your units use random donor milk? For example adoptive parents or a mother unable to produce milk wanting to use a friend or relatives breast milk for their baby in the NICU.

[NicuGal, MSN, RN]

No because it has to be tested and then the donor milk we use is pasteurized.

[aerorunner80, ADN, BSN, MSN, APRN]

It isn't supposed to happen in our unit but I know we have had moms use donor milk but have labeled it as if it were their own. When they tell me this I tell them it can be dangerous.

[2012rnnewbie]

We use pasteurized as well

[Jory, MSN, APRN, CNM]

We don't have a donor milk program and would never allow this practice. The bottom line is if you give the baby milk that isn't tested, the hospital is liable and so is the nurse. That's different than blood where the nurse is responsible for checking the labeling but not responsible for the testing. With random donor milk, if it's brought in, the nurse KNOWS it's not tested..and if you elect to give it anyway, the nurse is liable. I don't think a facility policy can override that.

I would absolutely refuse.

We would, however, use donor milk from a donor milk program...where it's tested, etc. But at this time, we don't have access.

[Bortaz, MSN, RN]

We had a baby whose mother died in delivery. Mom's sister adopted the infant. She was, at the time, actively breastfeeding her own child. So, she just started pumping for the adopted baby too.

Otherwise, we do just as NicuGal said.