Jenny Wright, CEO of Milk Matters, writes that MedicalBrief's headline 'First four milk banks in Africa now operational' is misleading and inaccurate.
She writes:
These four Netcare milk banks are by no means the first milk banks in Africa. There have been milk banks operating in South Africa for over a decade already.
Milk Matters (www.milkmatters.org), a community milk bank in Cape Town, was the second milk bank to open in South Africa and we have been operating since 2003, supplying screened, pasteurised donor milk to state and private hospitals in the Western Cape throughout that period. We have supplied donor milk to thousands and thousands of premature babies and continue to do so 365 days of the year, a life-saving intervention for these vulnerable babies when their own mothers cannot supply the breastmilk they need.
I would very much appreciate it if you would correct the perception your headline created, as there are many milk banks around, including our own, working very hard to create awareness about the need for breastmilk donations and the benefits it brings to the little recipients. Keeping up with the demand for donor milk is a constant battle as demand always exceeds supply, so we need breastfeeding moms to know breastmilk donation is not only possible, but very much needed by milk banks around the country.
Kind regards,
Jenny Wright
CEO Milk Matters
Human Milk Bank
Cape Town
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