Mother's Milk Bank Donors Plan Celebration

Mother's Milk Bank founder Dr. Marianne Neifert with MMB’s first freezer and donor moms and their children in 1984.Photo byMother's Milk Bank Colorado

Mothers’ Milk Bank Donors in Colorado Who Donated Over The Past 40 years Are Invited to the 40th Celebration on October 17 from 4-7 p.m.

Mothers’ Milk Bank (MMB), a program of Rocky Mountain Children’s Health Foundation, is inviting the community to join them on October 17, 2024 to celebrate its 40^th anniversary. A celebration of 40 years of impact will take place at the Mother’s Milk Bank in Arvada at 5394 Marshall Street, Arvada, CO from 4-7pm, and all milk donors, recipients, supporters, and members of the community are encouraged to attend.

Over the last 40 years, MMB has collected, processed, and distributed pasteurized donor human milk to millions of babies across the country and has grown to be one of the largest nonprofit milk banks in North America. The event will gather Mothers’ Milk Bank founders, supporters, recipients and milk donors to celebrate the last 40 years of impact and raise a glass to the future.

Mothers’ Milk Bank was started out of a mother’s belief that there had to be a better way to support infant health. In 1980, Joyce Ann Burgett’s son Benjamin was born very sick and premature. Burgett wanted him to feed him only human milk, but when she couldn’t produce enough of her own, Benjamin’s hospital meals were supplemented with infant formula. After 221 days, Benjamin made a full recovery, but Burgett knew the situation could have been better, and she set out to change it. She recognized the need for a human milk bank that could distribute safe, processed donor human milk to hospitals to help babies like her son.

After doing some research, Burgett started working with Dr. Marianne Neifert and the Junior League of Denver, the latter of whom became an early sponsor. Dr. Neifert agreed to be the medical director for MMB, and she started reaching out to other Colorado physicians for support. The response was overwhelming. They soon established guidelines to keep the milk safe for fragile babies and worked with the Mile High Transplant staff to support operations. After four years of tireless work, Burgett and Dr. Neifert’s project finally came to fruition with the grand opening of Mothers’ Milk Bank of Colorado in 1984.

In the beginning, they expected the milk bank would support several hundred infants. In the years since, MMB has distributed over 10 million ounces of donor human milk to hospitals and outpatients across the United States, saved countless lives of premature and medically fragile infants, and helped found the Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA). Today, MMB serves over 140 hospitals and clinics in 24 states and works with milk donors all across the country.

“MMB was founded on the belief that human milk is the best, first food for all babies,” says Rebecca Heinrich, Director of Mothers’ Milk Bank. “We’ve always believed that human milk–whether it is a parent’s own or donated–is essential for any baby, especially those with a weakened immune system or special dietary needs.”

Today, the majority of MMB’s milk goes to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) to help support the most fragile babies. The remaining milk, about 10 to 20%, is made available to outpatient families who need supplementation to jumpstart feeding, or who don’t have access to human milk directly (as in cases of surrogacy or adoption). For parents who decide to breast/chestfeed, it is normal to experience a delay as their milk comes in. Donor human milk can provide a “bridge” for babies during this time and help protect them from illness and infection while keeping their bellies full.

“A lot has happened over the last 40 years, and we are so incredibly proud of the accomplishments MMB has made in this time,” says Cathy Sandoval, Executive Director of Rocky Mountain Children’s Health Foundation, MMB’s parent organization. “As we reflect on this major milestone, we are honored to have provided human milk to so many premature and medically fragile infants—all those babies who truly need it most.”

For more information on Mothers’ Milk Bank or to learn how to become a milk donor, visit milkbankcolorado.org. To learn more about the 40^th Anniversary celebration, please visit, rmchildren.org/anniversary.