Donor spotlight: Andrea’s story

Andrea has donated to the Rogers Hixon Ontario Human Milk Bank three times. With each of her three children, she produced more milk than her babies needed and stored the extra milk in her freezer. After her first baby was born, she wanted to do something with the frozen milk she had on hand. That’s when her paediatrician suggested the Milk Bank.

“He explained how donor milk helps premature babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU),” says Andrea. “He said, ‘If you’re okay with it, hospitalized babies can really use it.’”

Andrea says that the first time she donated to the Milk Bank, she was focused on learning the process.

“The Milk Bank made it really easy. They sent boxes ahead of time so that I could send the milk back right away.”

After the birth of her second child, she knew that she wanted to donate again. She did the same after her youngest was born. This time, Andrea’s children, ages three and six, have become her helpers. Together, they pack boxes with pumped breast milk bound for the Milk Bank.

“I started stockpiling my milk right away,” says Andrea. “I knew I could produce milk, so I took the steps to donate to the Milk Bank. My six-year-old loves counting all of the milk bags. It’s like a math lesson.”

Andrea believes it is important to teach children about giving back to their community from a young age. She has tried to pass these values on to her own children. She recently learned that her friend’s preterm infant in the NICU needed donor human milk. For her, that news brought everything full circle.

“[My children and I] have talked about how the donor milk goes to babies who are much tinier than their brother. They want to help, and it’s great to know that we are giving back. With donor human milk, you never know who you are helping.”

Donor milk can help save the lives of hospitalized infants by reducing the rates of life-threatening medical complications. We are grateful to Andrea for her continued support and generous milk donations after the births of all three of her children. Thank you, Andrea, for helping to give these medically fragile infants a better chance.