Yang pushes for breast milk bank

By Nam Hyun-woo

Rep. Yang Seung-jo of the Minjoo Party of Korea on July 20 tabled a revision providing grounds for the establishment of a state-level breast milk bank.

A breast milk bank is an institution which collects, screens, processes and distributes human milk donated in order to supply milk to mothers who cannot supply their own breast milk to their children.

“Many European countries have milk banks that are actively helping the stable supply of safe breast milk and containing the morbidity and fatality rate of infants,” said Yang. “And their governments are supporting the banks, considering the milk banks as one of the measures to fight low birthrates.”

Yang’s proposal came after a series of online breast milk trading cases came to public light. As a growing number of mothers sell frozen packs of milk through the Internet, not only mothers who want breast milk for their babies, but also some men who are seeking the milk as rumors spread that the milk is good for male “stamina.”

Concerns have been raised as some of those milk packs were stale and in extreme cases harmful substances, such as nicotine, were found in them. Experts said that the individual trading of breast milk should be prevented as donors’ medical histories cannot be confirmed and there are risks of contamination during the milk’s transportation.

Breast milk is widely known as the “best gift” for babies, as it supplies all the nutritional needs for infants. The World Health Organization recommends breastfeeding for babies up to six months of age.

Despite the benefits, there are not many Korean mothers who supply breast milk for their babies because of physical burdens.

“As of 2013, Korean women’s exclusive breastfeeding rate (the ratio of infants who only receive breast milk) stood at 32.3 percent, significantly lower than that of the U.S. with 52 percent, Japan with 45 percent, Sweden with 90 percent and Denmark with 95 percent,” said Yang, citing a Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs report.

Yang stressed that establishing a state level breast milk bank in Korea could be a solution.

There are two breast milk banks in Korea and only one, Gangdong KyungHee University Hospital’s breast milk bank, is run by a university hospital. Some private obstetrics clinics have operated similar breast milk processing organizations, but went out of businesses after suffering financial problems.

“The Ministry of Health and Welfare have organized a consultative body to study ways of establishing a state level milk bank,” said Yang. “I will do my utmost to consult with the ministry for the establishment of a breast milk bank that is controlled and supported by the government.”