Mother's Milk donation
Babies at Intermountain Healthcare’s Newborn Intensive Care Units are fed breast milk to help provide nutrients and other benefits that infant formula cannot provide. Intermountain Healthcare has partnered with the Mountain West Mother’s Milk Bank (MWMMB) to ensure the proper pasteurization for NICU babies. We’re proud to have numerous donation and outreach centers on the Wasatch Front and one on the Wasatch Back where MWMMB screened donors can donate their breast milk.
More than 60% of mothers with babies in the NICU can't provide enough milk to meet their baby's needs. By donating breast milk, you can help these babies and their families in their time of great need. Breast milk can protect vulnerable babies in NICUs from all kinds of complications, including RSV, colds, the flu, respiratory infections, and necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) — a condition that can make babies life-threateningly sick. Donor milk, which is tested and pasteurized before being used, helps infants have fewer infections and allergies while improving cognitive and behavioral development.
How you can help
What happens to the milk?
After donor milk is received, MWMMB processes each donation. Once processed and approved, the milk is prioritized for Utah and Idaho hospital NICU needs. Much of the milk donated at local hospitals returns to be used by our tiniest patients.
How to donate
Before you can become a milk donor, you must complete a simple screening process that includes a blood test. Here's the steps:
- Contact the Milk Bank. Call the MWMMB at 877-367-9091 for a 15-minute screening to see if you are eligible to donate.
- Complete and Submit Forms. If you pass the pre-screening test, you will be asked to complete an online screening form and have a small amount of blood drawn. This can be done at our Donation and Outreach Centers at no cost to you (which takes about 10-15 minutes).
- Receive Collection Containers and Deliver Milk. If all screenings are passed, you will be able to regularly drop off your breast milk donations at our Donation and Outreach Centers. The milk bank will provide you with containers. Make sure to bring them with you to the drop-off sites. We will ship it to MWMMB at no cost to you. The milk will be pasteurized and then sent to hospitalized or premature infants, with priority to those babies in Utah and Idaho.
Requirements for milk donors
Donors must:
- Be in good health.
- Be non-smokers and do not use any nicotine or marijuana products.
- Pass a blood test for viruses.
- Use only Human Milk Banking Association of North America approved medications — talk to MWMMB for more information.
- Limit use of caffeine and alcohol.
- Be willing to donate a minimum of 150 ounces total during the time they are a donor.
- Sign medical release forms from both the mother’s and the baby’s doctors.
Contact information
If you would like to donate or want to learn more, call MWMMB at 877-367-9091. For more information, visit www.giveyourmilk.org or send an email.
Drop-off locations
Alta View Clinic
9450 South 1300 East Suite 210, Sandy, Utah 84094
American Fork Hospital
170 N 1100 E, American Fork, Utah 84003
Accepts donations Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Dixie Regional Medical Center
1380 East Medical Center Drive, St. George, Utah 84790
Intermountain Medical Center
Women and Newborn Center (Building 7), 5121 S. Cottonwood St., Murray, Utah 84107
Accepts donations Mon. – Fri., 8 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Kaysville Creekside Clinic
435 N. Main Street, Kaysville, Utah 84037
801-498-6000Accepts donation Thursdays, 9 a.m. – 3p.m.
Layton Clinic
2075 University Park Blvd., Layton, Utah 84041
McKay-Dee Hospital LiVe Well Library
4401 Harrison Blvd, Ogden, UT 84403 (located on the main floor near the visitor entrance)
Accepts donations Mon. – Fri., 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Park City Hospital
900 Round Valley Drive, Park City, Utah 84098
Salt Lake Clinic
333 South 900 East, Salt Lake City, Utah 84102
Accepts donations Tuesdays, 9 – 4pm
Utah Valley Hospital Outpatient Laboratory
Drop-off available 24 hours a day seven days a week. The NICU is located on the 4th Floor of the Women’s and Children’s Building. Use the doors marked Entrance 2 at the hospital and take the elevators to the 4th floor. Once off the elevator, use the phone for NICU and give the person your donor number. Frozen breast milk should be placed in a plastic grocery bag with the name and donor number written on the outside of the bag. If you have any questions, call the NICU Lactation department at 801-357-2222. Leave a message and someone will return the call within 24 hours.