Mission
The UAMS Milk Bank’s mission is to improve the health of Arkansas’ most vulnerable infants by providing safe donor milk. We collect, screen, process, and distribute donated milk to meet the specific medical needs of infants, particularly those in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), including premature or ill babies. Our commitment extends to clinical excellence, ethical practice, community education, and research, ensuring that all individuals with a medical need have access to pasteurized donor milk.
Operating under the guidelines of the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA), the UAMS Milk Bank became accredited in January 2024 to safely distribute pasteurized donor milk statewide. The bank is overseen by a board of directors, with guidance from experts in neonatology, pediatrics, lactation, microbiology, and other relevant fields. Consultants from various disciplines, including nursing, nutrition, law, and public health, also provide additional support.
Human milk is the standard of care for all newborns, especially premature and ill infants. While many mothers express and store their own milk for their babies, some face health challenges that prevent them from doing so. In these cases, safe, pasteurized donor milk becomes a vital alternative when a mother’s own milk is unavailable. The UAMS Milk Bank supports breastfeeding and provides donor milk for medically compromised infants in need.
Vision
The UAMS Milk Bank envisions a future where every family can feed their infant in the way they desire. The UAMS Milk Bank is supporting communities and families to meet the challenges of breastfeeding in their homes and communities with the goal of improving the short- and long-term health of mothers and infants all over Arkansas and its surrounding states. The UAMS Milk Bank believes that every mother who wants to provide milk for her baby should be supported to meet her goals. We pledge to support breastfeeding as the normal mode of infant feeding and provide safe pasteurized milk for vulnerable infants when their own mother’s milk is not available.
History
UAMS Milk Bank was founded with the invaluable support of the Arkansas state legislature in 2022. Extensive renovations were undertaken to build a state-of-the-art processing lab to ensure that the valuable milk processed in the milk bank was kept securely and made safe to feed to our most vulnerable Arkansas’ residents.
Dr. Misty Virmani and a group of physicians and nurses who are passionate about supporting breastfeeding as normal infant feeding and ensuring equitable provision of milk to all vulnerable infants worked together with UAMS and the legislature to secure funding, space and resources to develop what is now the UAMS Milk Bank. The UAMS Milk Bank opened its doors in September 2023 in a building situated on the main UAMS campus in Little Rock on West Monroe Street.
A Maternal Infant Risk Resource Program is currently in development in cooperation with the Arkansas Department of Health and the Minority Health Commission with a walk-in store containing resources supporting infant safety and maternal health on site in the same building as the milk bank. Outreach programs to help support communities with lactation care will be available in the near future.
Messages from our Wonderful Donors
Many women who have received donor milk during a time of need later find themselves inspired to give back by donating their own milk to the milk bank. Their stories highlight the powerful cycle of support and generosity, as they move from being recipients to becoming donors, helping other families facing similar challenges.
“My 2nd baby had a hard time latching in the hospital i eventually caved and said let’s try a bottle of formula. Then the nurse asked about donated milk and my baby finally ate enough to stop crying and go to sleep! That milk helped her while she was learning to latch! (Now she hates bottles, lol, {and is breastfeeding well}!)”. — received donor milk in term nursery to bridge during early breastfeeding
“I had my first baby in January and she received donor milk to try and lower her bilirubin level. I was so thankful and I am so happy to be able to donate now! – Love N & B” — received donor milk as a supplemental feeding for medical indications
“My {baby} was a premie and received donor milk while I waited 5 days for my milk to come in. I am so grateful to {those} donor{s} and want other babies to have the same!” — received donor milk in the NICU as a premature infant until mom’s own milk volume was sufficient