A BANK IS TO BE CREATED FOR MOTHERS TO DEPOSIT THEIR MILK - MINISTRY OF HEALTH PREPARING INSTRUCTIONS FOR SAFE PUMPING AND TRANSPORT - Filenews 21/4 by Marilena Panayi
The creation and operation of the first public breast milk bank is being promoted by the Ministry of Health, with the necessary procedures even being at an advanced stage.
As we are informed, the instructions that will be given to mothers are currently being prepared and will concern the safe way of pumping, storing and transporting breast milk to the Makarios hospital, where the bank will operate according to the relevant planning.
The way in which breast milk will reach the bank is being studied by the competent department of the Ministry of Health, which assures that it will be such that it will aim to facilitate women who choose to donate their milk (when they meet the needs of their own baby), with the aim of this ending up in infants whose mothers are unable to breastfeed.
An important part of the preparation also concerns the completion of the relevant protocols and procedures since the bank will be responsible for the safe processing, storage and administration of breast milk to infants.
In the first phase, he referred to "F", the goal will be to meet the breast milk needs of the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs), Makarios Hospital and Limassol General Hospital.
In the long term – and depending on the availability of breast milk – "it is planned to expand coverage to serve infants who are hospitalized in hospitals and/or obstetric departments of the public or private sector, including cases where mothers cannot breastfeed their children, for medical or other reasons".
Mothers of hospitalized babies will also be able to "deposit" their milk in the bank, when the hospitalization of infants is prolonged and it is difficult for women to breastfeed them.
The first public breast milk bank in Cyprus will be owned by the Ministry of Health. The State Health Services Organization (OKYPY), under whose management the hospital is located, has already declared its readiness to host it.
The next steps include the completion of the necessary building projects for the configuration of the space that will host the bank, the purchase of the necessary equipment and the staffing of the bank.
