DENVER — Last week a Jefferson County assistant principal died during childbirth and now family members and friends of Leilani Tanner are asking for breast milk donations.
After sharing Tanner's story on Thursday, 9NEWS reached out to the Mother's Milk Bank at the Rocky Mountain Children's Foundation to provide information about how to donate.
Tanner worked at McLain Community High School. Last Wednesday she began feeling sick and went to her doctor, the school's principal Gavan Goodrich told 9NEWS.
According to Gavan, she had a seizure and doctors were forced to deliver her son Alan by an emergency C-section at just 28 weeks.
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"Leilani was a huge proponent for breastfeeding," Tanner's friend Cara Taft said. "So, the need for breast milk is so important because it's not easy to get those pieces and so we want to make sure that he gets what she would want."
Healthy, non-smoking women with excess milk are encouraged to donate. About 90% of the donated milk is distributed to NICUs in hospitals all over the country for premature or ill babies to use. Mothers’ Milk Bank provides milk to over 120 hospitals. The rest of the milk is given out to families who have already been discharged but still need some donor milk until the mothers’ own milk comes in.
We've compiled a list of requirements below to donate at the Mother's Milk Bank.
Requirements for donation
- Be confident in milk supply and able to produce milk in excess of own baby’s needs
- Be willing to donate a minimum total of 150 ounces throughout her time as a donor
- Not have any medical condition that prohibits her from giving blood
- Not be taking vitamin supplements that exceed 2000% Daily Value (DV)
- Take only approved medications and herbal supplements/teas. Mothers’ Milk Tea, fenugreek and any lactation support product containing fenugreek or other herbs is NOT compatible with donating.
- Not have any medical condition that prohibits her from giving blood (there are exceptions to this rule – please contact the Mother's Milk Bank for details)
- Consume less than 450 mg of caffeine per day (2-3 cups of coffee)
- Wait 6 hours after drinking any alcoholic beverage to collect milk to donate
- Be motivated to practice exceptional hygiene and carry out careful milk collection and storage methods
- Be willing to undergo blood testing
- Be less than 18 months postpartum when collecting the milk
Interested donors will need to call for a verbal screening and complete an online application. A blood test is also required, the cost of which is covered by Mother's Milk Bank. The donor and her doctor will also have to sign some paperwork to get started.
You can contact the Mother's Milk Bank at 303-869-1888 or by email at mothersmilkbank@rmchildren.org
If you still have questions you can read over the Frequently Asked Questions page for the Mother's Milk Bank.
Have another mom or family related story idea? Email me at janet.oravetz@9news.com
