COVID-19
UK Milk Banks continue to communicate by means of telephone conference on a weekly basis to share information and data relating to supply and demand within the UK. Challenges within individual Milk Banks are discussed and collective solutions are put in place to ensure that there are sufficient supplies as clinically required.
This collaboration of milk banks shares local, national and international information to enable us to stay up to date with this challenging and changing situation. Milk banks in the UK are continuing to work together to keep all the babies who receive donor human milk, all the donors who provide the milk and all the staff and volunteers safe and to ensure that they can continue to supply donor human milk to hospital neonatal units for use in the absence of any or sufficient mother’s own milk.
A Collaborative and standardized Transportation guideline has been developed and will soon be available on the website for use by all Milk Banks; this has been shared with the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes (NABB). Many Thanks to Gillian Weaver for pulling this together
We are confident that by following the current robust screening and processing recommendations in the guideline Donor Milk Banks: service operation (NICE CG93), milk banks will continue to ensure the safety of donor milk. As with all other illnesses or infections, it is really important that donors inform their local milk bank immediately if they or any member of their family/household show symptoms of possible Covid-19 infection including a persistent cough and/or a high temperature/fever.
UKAMB Trustees and Milk bank leads are working with a global group of milk bank experts to learn and share information from those areas that are ahead in the pandemic and Dr Natalie Shenker will make available a joint paper that recognises the challenges facing milk banks, but provides an evidence based and pragmatic set of solutions that can reassure parents and neonatal care teams, the paper has been developed with representatives from 30 countries. The European Milk Bank Association (EMBA) has formed a Covid-19 task force to bring together published evidence and reports and these can be found on the EMBA website https://europeanmilkbanking.com/
UKAMB can confirm that the current demand is being accommodated and will regularly update the website with any agreed changes
UKAMB continues to promote excellent hand hygiene and follows government recommendations to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.
More information