Milkbank won't take milk from mothers who have lived in Europe. WHY?

[nia82]

I was interested in donating some milk since I have plenty and otherwise qualify - no meds, healthy, was never sick etc. On the websites of the milkbanks in says they will not take milk from women who have lived in Europe for more than 6 months. Well being a born and raised European I am not allowed to donate. They do not elaborate why being European excludes me from donating my milk. Do you guys know why they do that?

[MeepyCat]

My understanding, which is potentially wrong, is that they won't take it because of concerns about Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis (BSE).  That's why I can't donate blood or milk.

[nstewart]

I think PP is correct. It's the same with donating blood (here in Canada at least). If you are interested in donating BM (so awesome, btw) please check out "Human Milk 4 Human Babies" (formerly Eats on Feets) as a way to donate.  There is no milk bank where I live so I was able to donate my milk this way.

[PatioGardener]

Yeah, I think it is because of the blood bank rules too.

Kinda sad how humans (with an incredibly small risk of BOVINE SE, and no known cases of BSE transmission in milk) are banned from donating milk, but as a society we don't see a risk with BOVINE derived formula...

[MeepyCat]

Originally Posted by PatioGardener 

Yeah, I think it is because of the blood bank rules too.

Kinda sad how humans (with an incredibly small risk of BOVINE SE, and no known cases of BSE transmission in milk) are banned from donating milk, but as a society we don't see a risk with BOVINE derived formula...

In all fairness, we are not importing milk from France.  I'm barred from donating in the U.S. because (theoretically) my exposure to BSE could introduce the disease to a population that might be otherwise unexposed. 

[PatioGardener]

Originally Posted by MeepyCat 

In all fairness, we are not importing milk from France.  I'm barred from donating in the U.S. because (theoretically) my exposure to BSE could introduce the disease to a population that might be otherwise unexposed. 

This is true. Has BSE ever been show to pass through milk? Is it a worry in France and the UK etc (both bovine and human milk?) I'm curious now

[Annie Mac]

Originally Posted by MeepyCat 

In all fairness, we are not importing milk from France.  I'm barred from donating in the U.S. because (theoretically) my exposure to BSE could introduce the disease to a population that might be otherwise unexposed. 

We import cheese from France, don't we? I don't think BSE is transmitted via dairy products, just meat from an infected animal. I also fall into the category of people who can't donate blood because of living in Europe. Never thought about the effects on milk donation.
 

[MsFortune]

The blood rules don't make a lot of sense in many ways.  They are trying to prevent risk, but are not very smart about it.  For example, they don't let gay men donate even with a negative AIDS test.  The rule against allowing gay men to donate made sense once upon a time, but their rules do not keep up with the technology. 

[MeepyCat]

Annie Mac, I agree that it's a stupid rule.  So far as I know, there have been no cases in which BSE was transmitted to humans via eating meat, and that seems to be what everyone's all twitchy about.  I have no idea whether BSE is transmissable through milk.  So yeah:  it's a dumb rule, the vague logic behind it makes sense only if you ignore facts about BSE, and the blood donation people need to catch up with the times.

[nia82]

I had no idea it affected blood donation as well and that they are thinking about BSE... As far as I know, BSE/Creutzfeldt-Jacobsen is transmitted via eating an infected cow's brain or bone marrow, it is not yet proven to be transmitted through meat actually. I personally never ate beef products in Europe, my parents hate beef, but that is a personal circumstance.

If you truly wanted to exclude the possibility of transmission of BSE then you would have to exclude every American who ever ate a beef product while vacationing/working in Europe. The logic is flawed.... And yes to the PP who talked about bovine based formula, I completely agree!

Oh well so both hubbie and I cannot donate blood, he spent a year in Munich.

So eats on feet will take the Eu-tainted breast milk then? ;)

[nstewart]

Originally Posted by nia82 

So eats on feet will take the Eu-tainted breast milk then? ;)

As far as I know, Eats on Feets (Now known as "Human Milk 4 Human Babies") will, yes.  Unlike a milk bank, the purpose is to organize exchange between moms/parents on a private basis.  So it would be up to the individual mom to decide what she was comfortable with.  Likewise, unless the recipient pasteurized the milk, the breast milk would not be pasteurized. 

[madcap150]

Yeah, the Europe rules exclude me too. It's silly and reactionary, but the context is that in the early days of AIDS, people *were* infected via blood transfusions because AIDS wasn't yet understood. Since then, blood banks (and milk banks by extension) have gone way overboard in excluding anyone who *might* be able to transmit something, even when there's no reason to believe that it is actually transmitted via blood as in the case of BSE. They are covering themselves in terms of liability, and in fairness, probably trying to shield the population from problems. But they're painting with a broad brush. One result, sadly, has been that blood banks have a chronic shortage of donors-- and of course, we know that milk banks do too. It's a sad situation.

[crystal_buffaloe]

Sorry to be off-subject, but why/when did Eats on Feets change its name?

The blood donation questionnaire at one time excluded gay men from donating, but did not even ask if you had ever tested positive for an HIV or AIDS test -- so a gay man who answered all of the questions honestly could not donate, but a straight man with known AIDS could answer all of the questions honestly and be allowed to donate (they do screen the blood afterward, but still). They've since changed the questionnaire so that it actually comes out and asks about AIDS.

Back on track: I'm sorry that the milk bank doesn't want your milk especially when there is such a shortage. Is this rule in effect for hospitals who use donated milk for premies? Donating is a great thing -- and it's really awesome that you are considering it. Maybe your LLL leader could put you in touch with someone looking for donor milk if the Human Milk for Human Babies doesn't have any leads.

[prone_to_wander]

Eats on Feets changed its name because the woman who started it has sent cease and desist letters to all the groups using the name. She is apparently trying to copyright the name.