Located at the Hong Kong Children's Hospital, the Hospital Authority said the Hong Kong Breast Milk Bank would start services on January 6. Speaking on a RTHK programme on Thursday, the facility's director Rosanna Wong said the bank aims to collect 50 to 100 litres of breast milk in its first stage of service, so it can start supplying the milk to premature or critically-ill newborns in nine public hospitals in March – when the second stage launched. “We will ensure the quality of the breast milk. We will conduct checks including screening, microbiological testing, pasteurisation, and nutritional analysis, all under precise temperature control. The processed breast milk will then be eligible to supply to the newborns,” Wong said. Wong said breast milk is easier for premature newborns to digest, and can reduce the chance of them developing complications due to their early birth. She hoped the bank could collect around 1,000 litres of breast milk a year in future, benefiting 450 to 600 newborns. To donate breast milk, Wong said the donor must be healthy, must not smoke nor drink alcohol, and is currently breastfeeding a baby under one year old. The donor will also have to take a blood test once every three months. Wong said the facility will provide milk bottles and pouches to the donors. Donors can store their breast milk in a refrigerator at home before a courier arranged by the facility collects the milk.
