Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo has become a part of Corrine Cendrowski's normal routine. She's part of a growing trend of donating her breast milk to a human milk bank.
"I had heard of it before but I had no idea there were any places in Michigan where I could donate," Cendrowski said.
Cendrowski says she has more than enough milk to feed her four month old son, Theo. She hated the thought of just throwing out her milk. She is more than happy to take her extra milk to Bronson to help other babies who are in need of breast milk in the NICU.
Bronson is one of twelve human milk banks in the U.S. It opened in February of 2006. Bronson currently supplies donor breast milk to 17 hospitals in Michigan and ten hospitals across the country.
According to the CDC, breast fed babies are 250% less likely to be hospitalized with severe respiratory infections, 56% less likely to suffer from SIDS and 32% less likely to be obese later in life.
Health officials assure feeding donor breast milk to babies is 100% safe.
Cindy Duff, coordinator of the milk bank at Bronson says, "the donors are all screened, the milk is pasteurized at 62 degrees celsius for thirty minutes and then cultured after that so the milk is never dispensed unless all cultures come back negative."
Bronson has nearly seventy active donors and its milk bank has been approved for expansion in 2013.
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