There are 47 human milk banks in India with Rajasthan (13), Maharashtra (12) and Tamil Nadu (10) being the leading players, says Dr Satish Tiwari, convenor, Human Milk Banking Association (India). In 1989, the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital at Sion in Mumbai, set up the first human milk bank in Asia. According to Dr Aarti Kinikar, head of paediatrics at B J Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital, in the last three-and-a-half years, the human milk bank has collected and dispensed 1,625 litres of human milk. Storage facility at the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital (Express) Storage facility at the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital (Express)“As many as 13,000 babies have benefited from milk donated by 14,388 mothers. Dr Rajan Joshi, head of NICU at Deenanath Mangeshkar, says premature babies who receive donor human milk have less risk of infections.

Source: Indian Express July 16, 2017 18:56 UTC