Our Mission The Mothers' Milk Bank at Austin is a non-profit organization whose mission is to accept, pasteurize and dispense donor human milk by physician prescription, primarily to premature and ill infants.

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Follow the milk

Donation

Step 1: Donation

Mothers donate their frozen milk.

Clean Technique

Step 2: Clean Technique

The pasteurization room and team are prepared with procedures that diminish risks of contamination.

Pouring

Step 3: Pouring

Staff and volunteers pour thawed milk into flasks.

Nutritional Analysis

Step 4: Nutritional Analysis

A sample of each donor's milk is scanned by infrared spectroscopy (the MilkoScan) to determine the fat, protein, and lactose content.

Bottling

Step 5: Bottling

Mixed pools of milk targeting the nutritional needs of sick babies are poured into BPA-free, tamper-evident bottles for pasteurization.

Pasteurizing

Step 6: Pasteurizing

Milk is heated to 62.5 °C for 30 minutes. Pasteurization kills viruses and bacteria that could be harmful to fragile infants, while retaining most of the milk's beneficial components.

Bacteriological Cultures

Step 7: Bacteriological Cultures

Milk is cultured before and after pasteurization to ensure absence of bacteria.

Freezing

Step 8: Freezing

Pasteurized milk is stored in a deep freeze until dispensed to hospitals and outpatient babies.