More About Donor Milk and the Milk Bank

If you listened in this week, you heard Lindsay McGuire help take donor milk out of the mystery category.

Because once you hear the words donor milk, the next question is usually:

• Okay…but how does this actually work?

• Who can donate?

• How is the milk screened?

• Who can receive it?

• And where do families even begin?

The Milk Bank, located here in Indianapolis, works with approved donors to collect, screen, pasteurize and distribute donor human milk to hospitals and families throughout the Midwest. Donor milk may be used as a medical treatment, to help bridge a temporary feeding gap or to support a family’s breastfeeding goals.

And locally, Hancock Health serves as both a Milk Depot and a Milk Express Site.

That means approved donors can drop off their frozen milk at Hancock Regional Hospital. It also means families who order pasteurized donor human milk through The Milk Bank may be able to pick it up closer to home.

So whether you are considering donating milk, looking for donor milk for your baby or simply trying to better understand the process, here are a few places to start.

• Learn About Pasteurized Donor Human Milk
  What donor milk is, how it is processed and situations in which it may be used:
  https://themilkbank.org/donor-milk/

• Request Milk for Your Family
  Learn how donor milk may be accessed as a medical treatment, to bridge a gap or to help meet breastfeeding goals:
  https://themilkbank.org/request-milk-families/

• Become a Milk Donor
  Review the screening process and begin the donor application:
  https://themilkbank.org/donate-milk/

• Find a Milk Express Site
  Locate a convenient pickup site for donor milk ordered through The Milk Bank:
  https://themilkbank.org/milk-express/

• Find a Milk Depot
  Approved donors can search for a nearby location to safely drop off frozen milk:
  https://themilkbank.org/milk-depot/

• Learn About Hancock Health’s Milk Express Site
  See how Hancock Health and The Milk Bank are expanding local access to pasteurized donor human milk:
  https://www.hancockhealth.org/2026/04/hancock-health-celebrates-one-year-as-milk-bank-express-site-expands-access-to-lifesaving-donor-milk/

• Breast Milk Storage: Do’s and Don’ts
  Find evidence-backed guidance from the Mayo Clinic Health Library on safely storing expressed breast milk:
  https://www.hancockhealth.org/mayo-health-library/breast-milk-storage-dos-and-donts/

Because feeding plans can shift.

Questions can come up quickly.

And sometimes the most helpful thing is simply knowing where to turn next.

Email justjennunfiltered@gmail.com and it may be answered on an upcoming mailbag episode!

Hancock Health has stayed focused on providing women’s health built for the whole you – guided by a steadfast commitment to clinical excellence.

Today, Hancock Health stands as a trusted, independent healthcare system recognized for our commitment to innovation, community, and compassionate care. What began as one woman’s dream has grown into a health network of more than 30 locations, serving east central Indiana and beyond.