SANTA CLARA, Calif.—Amid the baby formula shortage, mothers are looking for other ways to make up for the lack of milk. Some turn to milk banks for help.
Mothers’ Milk Bank in San Jose was started in 1974 to feed premature infants. It is the oldest operating milk bank in North America.
The non-profit is part of an organization called Human Milk Banking of North America, which establishes the standard for milk banks.
“The donors go through an extensive screening, similar to blood donation, and they get tested for infectious disease,” Jonathan Bautista, executive director of Mothers’ Milk Bank, told NTD Television. “The other thing that we do is we get consent from the obstetrician, so the mom’s physician and the baby’s physician, so that the mom is healthy and the baby’s healthy, and then she’s approved to donate her milk.”…