Donate milk
4 easy steps to becoming a milk donor
- Complete a 10-15 minute phone screening.
- Complete and return an informational packet.
- Have a blood test done. (We pay.)
- When we receive your paperwork and lab results, our Clinical Director calls you with your approval status.
Getting started
Ready to provide some basic information so we can call you for a phone screening? Contact Valarie by email. Or you can call her at 512.494.0800 or toll-free 1.877.813.MILK (6455).
Please include the following information in your email: Your name, phone number, location, baby's birth date, whether or not you have already collected any milk, a list of any medications or herbal supplements you are taking, and the best time to reach you.
Who is eligible
You are a good candidate if you’re a mother who is currently (or just recently) lactating and has surplus milk, and if you are:
- In good general health
- Willing to undergo a blood test (at the Milk Bank’s expense)
- Not regularly using medication or herbal supplements (with a few exceptions)
- Willing to donate 100 ounces of milk initially and continue pumping to donate as you are able (minimum donations will be different if you are shipping milk)
- Nursing an infant who is less than one year of age (bereaved or surrogate mothers are also eligible to donate)
- Able to arrange for transportation of your milk to a drop-off site, or in some cases to ship your milk to the Milk Bank
You are not eligible to donate milk if
- You have a positive blood test result for HIV, HTLV, Hepatitis B or C, or Syphilis
- You or your sexual partner is at risk for HIV
- You use illegal drugs
- You smoke or use tobacco products
- You have received an organ or tissue transplant or a blood transfusion in the last 12 months
- You regularly have more than two alcoholic drinks per day
- Between 1980-1996, you were in the United Kingdom for more than 3 months or in Europe for more than 5 years
Getting the blood test
Your milk will be prescribed to preterm and critically ill babies. To provide the safest milk possible, we require all donor moms to complete a blood test to screen for harmful viruses. The Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin covers the cost of these tests.
Please complete the initial phone screening, receive your donor ID#, and be well on your way to collecting your initial 100 ounces of mik before taking a blood test. When you go to have your blood drawn, be sure to bring the requisition form we provide!
The lab will test for:
- HIV I & II
- RPR (syphilis)
- HTLV I & II (Human T-Lymphotrophic Virus)
- Hepatitis B (HbsAg)
- Hepatitis C (HCV)
You will have your blood test done at one of the labs listed below with whom we contract. Please find the location nearest to you.
- Southwestern US: Clinical Pathology Labs
- Across the US: Quest Diagnostics
We also partner with local blood centers for our testing. You may visit the following locations with whom we contract.
- Central Texas: The Blood Center of Central Texas
- Houston area: Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center
- San Antonio area: South Texas Blood and Tissue Center
If you live outside the areas listed and cannot find a lab with whom we contract, please call us to discuss additional options for completing your blood work.
The approval process
The approval process can take anywhere from one to four weeks, depending on how quickly you return your paperwork and get your blood work done, and how soon we receive the completed health forms from your healthcare providers.
Once you become an approved milk donor mom, you’ll be ready to begin dropping off your milk at the Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin or one of our collection sites, or to ship your milk to us at the Milk Bank.
More questions? See Milk Donor FAQs.
Austin Area
Mothers' Milk Bank at Austin – CENTRAL (Main Office)
Medical Arts Square
2911 Medical Arts St., Suite #12
Austin, TX 78705
512-494-0800
Hours: Mon-Thurs 9-5, Fri 9-1
Seton Northwest Hospital - NORTH
3rd Floor-Mother/Baby Desk
11113 Research Boulevard
Austin, TX 78759
512-324-6000 x67308
Hours: Anytime
The Women’s Center - ROUND ROCK
St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center
2400 Round Rock Ave.
Round Rock, TX 78681
Hours: 8:30 - 8:30
512-341-5322
Parking for milk drop-off is in the circle at the Main Entrance. Please follow signs for The Women’s Center. The drop off point is at the postpartum nurse’s station.
South Oaks Family Medicine-SOUTH
7900 FM 1826, Bldg. II, Ste. 202
Austin, TX 78737
512-416-0044
Mom's Place WIC Breastfeeding Clinic
8701-B Research Blvd.
Austin, TX 78758
512-719-3010
Hours: Monday, Wednesday & Thursday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed 2nd Wed of every month), Tuesday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., 1st Saturday of the month from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Bryan/College Station
Brazos Valley Community Action Agency (BVCAA)-WIC
3408 S. Texas Ave.
Bryan, TX 77802
979-260-4016
Corpus Christi
Driscoll Children’s Hospital
Mom’s Place Lactation-3rd Floor
3533 South Alameda
Corpus Christi, TX 78411
361-694-5338
361-694-4234
Hours: Mon-Th 10-4
*Please call ahead
Edinburg-The Valley
Women’s Hospital at Renaissance
Outpatient Entrance (Dove and McColl)
5502 S. McColl
Edinburg, TX 78539
Hours of operation:
M-F 9am-4pm
Contact: Gaby Reyna m.reyna@dhr-rgv.com
Office: 956-362-4405 (please call this number during business hours)
956-362-4567 (after hours messages only)
Houston Area
The Woman’s Hospital of Texas
7600 Fannin
Education Center, Suite 148
Houston, TX 77054
713-383-2895
Hours: Mon-Fri 8:30-4:30
The Woman's Place of Sugar Land
16552 A Southwest Freeway
Sugar Land, TX 77479
(Near Wendy's)
281-242-0767
Enter through the Pediatrics Entrance and stop at the desk.
Drop offs welcome from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday-Friday. Call ahead during the lunch hour, 12 p.m.-1 p.m.
Contacts: Jennifer Richardson & Frances Garcia
Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Hospital (in the Lactation Center)
9250 Pinecroft
The Woodlands, TX 77380
Hours: Any time Mon-Fri 9-3. Call ahead to drop off Sat 10-3.
281-364-5896
New Braunfels
Christus Santa Rosa Hospital-New Braunfels
Lactation Center
600 N. Union
New Braunfels, TX 78130
830-606-9111 x6193
Hours: Mon-Fri 8-1
*Please call ahead
San Antonio
North Central Baptist Hospital
Mother's Milk First Lactation Center in the Atrium
502 Madison Oak, Suite 190
San Antonio TX 78258
210-297-4086
Northeast Baptist Hospital
8811 Village Dr.
San Antonio, TX
78217-5440
210-297-2069
*Please call ahead
Hours: Mon-Fri 9-4
Methodist Women’s Center
8109 Fredericksburg Rd.
San Antonio, TX 78229
210-575-0261
Hours: M-F 8:30-5 (closed from noon-1 p.m.)
San Marcos
Central Texas Medical Center
Postpartum Unit
1301 Wonder World Drive
San Marcos, TX 78666
512-753-3842
Waco
Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center
Mothers’ Milk Bank
110 Medical Blvd. Waco, TX 76712
Donors should go through the front entrance of the Women and Children’s Hospital, and ask for one of the lactation nurses at the Mother-Baby Area. Please call ahead and someone may be able to come meet you. Office 254-202-2706; Nurses Station 254-202-2180; or Pager 254-398-2313.
Hours: 9-3:30
