SC mom donates 106 ounces of breast milk

(Spartanburg) Herald Journal

Many people give time and money to causes they believe in.

Meghan Smith of Roebuck has literally given of herself.

Smith recently donated 106 ounces of breast milk through an organization called International Breast Milk Project. A portion of donated milk provides nourishment to infants affected by HIV/AIDS, malnourishment and poverty in South Africa.

Smith's freezer was stocked with extra breast milk, so she did some research and found a couple of organizations that wanted donations of breast milk. She selected International Breast Milk Project because the organization sends about 25 percent of donated milk to South Africa.

Smith and her husband, Derrick, have always wanted to travel to Africa. The couple returned to the Spartanburg area recently with their infant son, Moses, to plant a multiethnic church called Kaleidoscope in Spartanburg.

Smith, daughter of Southside Baptist Church Pastor David Blanton, grew up overseas on the mission field. She said she and her husband eventually want to travel overseas and do missions work, maybe in North Africa or Europe.

Smith plans to donate more breast milk in the future and wants other mothers to know about the organization.

It's different from donating money or "joining some Facebook cause," she said.

"Those are all good and well, and people should do them, but with this I was actually giving myself," Smith said. "I know that there are babies out there ... who are being supported by my breast milk. I just love that I could be a part of that."

International Breast Milk Project was founded by executive director Jill Youse of Rochester, Minn., in 2006 after she had her first daughter.

"Breast milk is like liquid gold because it has such amazing properties - immune properties that help infants fight diseases and help them get the best start in life that I believe every infant deserves, especially when they don't have access to their mother's own milk because they've been orphaned or immune compromised because they've been exposed to HIV," Youse said in a phone interview. "This donor milk can be lifesaving for these infants."

More than 1,000 moms have donated breast milk since the organization began. Donors have provided 4,147 gallons of milk to infants, including 1,270 gallons to babies in South Africa, according to IBMP.

Youse said 75 percent of the milk is made into "a human milk fortifier that is sold to hospitals in the U.S. for premature infants."

In exchange, Youse said, a company called Prolacta Bioscience processes 25 percent of donated milk to go to infants in South Africa. There is no cost to donors, and IBMP provides screening, shipping and a free breast pump.

Moms apply online to donate breast milk, and Prolacta arranges for them to have a blood test at home.

Smith said it's a very thorough process, but very easy.

"I didn't pay for anything," she said.

Coolers are shipped to donors. Moms pack donated breast milk into the cooler, call Fed Ex, and the milk is shipped to Prolacta in California, where it's screened, tested, processed and packaged, Youse said.

A company donates shipping from the United States to Africa, where the milk is sent twice a year - on Mother's Day and World AIDS Day.

Now, Youse says IBMP is at a point of oversupply - more moms are donating than they can accommodate, and the organization needs funds for additional processing.

"We want to give back in a way that's more than just opening our pocket books," Youse said. "We feel like social entrepreneurs where, instead of just throwing money at a cause, we want to roll up our sleeves and get involved and directly see how we're making a difference. There's really no more direct way than providing a gift like donor breast milk."

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Information from: Herald-Journal, http://www.goupstate.com/">http://www.goupstate.com/