Hearts Milk Bank: developing the ‘bank with a difference’

The recently established Hearts Milk Bank has recruited over 150 human milk donors in the first 10 months of operation and currently supplies screened and processed donor human milk to 20 NHS neonatal and paediatric units that had previously struggled to obtain an assured supply. A programme of research and innovation is being initiated with the aim of understanding the optimal processing and use of donor human milk, as well as answering fundamental questions about the constituents and function of human milk.