June 09, 2015
Elise Amendola/AP
In this photo taken Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012, Kelly Fischl, a lab technician at the Mothers' Milk Bank of New England in Newtonville, Mass., pours donated breast milk into a plastic bottle for pasteurization.
Human breast milk banks may soon be opening in New Jersey.
On Monday, the New Jersey state Senate Budget Committee approved a bill that authorizes the state Health Department to issue licenses for the establishment of human breast milk banks, according to NorthJersey.com.
The purpose of a breast milk bank - which is defined in the bill as a service that selects breast milk donors and manages collections, processing, storage and distribution of donations - is to help mothers with delayed lactation and those who cannot nurse.
For the seller, a year's worth of pumping about 30 ounces a day could equate to about $20,000, according to one seller's account in Wired.
To put the demand into perspective, an 8-pound baby consumes approximately 20 ounces of milk a day, and breast milk, as opposed to formula, is known to have superior health benefits.
The state committee will consider another bill that calls for a public
awareness campaign surrounding the dangers in so-called casual sharing of
breast milk, including contamination, disease spread and the transfer of harmful medications.
There are currently 15 such institutions in the United States and three in Canada.
Similar legislation has passed committee in the Assembly.
Read the full NorthJersey.com article here.
