Odishas first human milk bank was inaugurated atCapital Hospitalhere on Wednesday. It will provide breast milk to newborns who cannot be breastfed by their mothers, infants whose mothers have died, unwell or cannot produce enough milk, or babies who cannot suck on their mothers milk.
This state-of-the art milk bank will ensure the retention of the nutritional value of mothers milk, he added. On the first day of its opening, 19 lactating mothers donated their milk to the bank, which was laterfedto their children. For pasteurisation, we require at least 2.5 litres of milk. The commercial use of the milk bank has not yet started. At present, only mothers are storing milk for their children.
The first human milk bank in the country was set atSion Hospitalin Mumbai in 1989.