Jharkhand is mulling to set up human milk banks in a bid to provide breast milk to babies born to women who either fail to lactate or do not lactate enough due to various medical conditions or ailments.

As a part of this project, the first such milk bank is likely to come up in Ranchi, officials involved in the planning of the project said, claiming that the milk banks will function like blood banks and lactating mothers will be able to donate milk as a voluntary act to save lives of babies whose biological mothers fail to lactate.

Women suffering from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Hypothyroidism or hypoplastic breasts a condition in which a woman has insufficient glandular Tissues are unlikely to lactate after giving birth to a child, say doctors. Also, women who have undergone breast surgeries or chemotherapy may not be able to lactate.

On the other hand, many healthy and lactating mothers often produce more breast milk than their babys requirement. The surplus milk, which is usually wasted, can be donated to the milk banks, say doctors.