World Human Milk Donation Day: a gesture that saves lives.

Breast milk is stored in human milk banks, which are responsible for promoting, protecting, and supporting breastfeeding. Photo: Maria Júlia Goulart

On World Human Milk Donation Day, celebrated on May 19th, the Municipal Health Department (SMS) highlights the importance of this life-saving gesture. This strategy is fundamental to ensuring the nutrition of premature or low-weight newborns hospitalized in neonatal ICUs who cannot be breastfed by their own mothers.

Mariana Vitória was one and a half months old when she was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Rocha Faria Municipal Hospital (HMRF) in Campo Grande. There, breast milk donated by other mothers fed her and helped her grow in the first days of her life.

"I felt embraced by these donor mothers because, at the moment when I couldn't be there, they were there for me," says Karine Pereira, getting emotional.

Donated breast milk is stored in human milk banks, specialized centers responsible for promoting, protecting, and supporting breastfeeding. The city of Rio has seven human milk banks in maternity wards of the municipal network, such as the one at Hospital Rocha Faria, in addition to 38 collection points in Primary Care units, which distribute donations weekly to the banks.

– Donating human milk is crucial for these babies, as it strengthens their immune system, reduces the risk of infections, and promotes healthy development. Just one container of milk can help up to ten babies a day, making every drop valuable – explains Arine França, nutritionist at the Rocha Faria human milk bank.

To connect donors with patients served by the service, the Municipal Health Department (SMS) maintains a home collection network that takes the milk bank team directly to the homes of donor mothers to collect the stored bottles, provide guidance, and monitor each stage of the process. At Hospital Rocha Faria, for example, the home collection route collected 432,9 liters of human milk between January and December 2025, benefiting 215 recipients. On each visit, the team collects an average of 4,1 liters.

Before reaching the babies, the milk undergoes pasteurization and quality control: after each bottle is pasteurized, a sample is kept in a bacteriological incubator for 48 hours and, only then, if suitable, is it released to the Neonatal ICU according to the needs of each newborn.

Donations bring hope.

Nathalia Araújo, mother of 5-year-old Heitor and 3-month-old Vicente, became a donor during the postpartum period after the birth of her first child and hasn't stopped since. "As a mother, I feel extremely grateful to be able to breastfeed my children and also to know that, with this precious milk, we can also help so many other little lives that are in need," she says.

The experience also made a mark on the life of Arianny Aquino, mother of little Cecília, 5 months old, who was introduced to the possibility of donation by nurse Wladia, from the milk bank at Hospital Rocha Faria.

"Donating breast milk represents hope for the babies. It's with this milk that they are nourished and able to develop well. For me, it also represents life, because whoever donates ends up sharing a piece of themselves to help the little babies stay strong and healthy," says Arianny.

Healthy women who are breastfeeding, have excess milk production, and are not using medications that contraindicate breastfeeding can become donors. It is also possible to contribute by donating glass jars with screw-on plastic lids, used for storing human milk. To find the nearest milk bank or collection point, visit: https://saude.prefeitura.rio/doacao-de-leite-humano/.