Utah mom selling almost 4,000 ounces of breast milk as baby formula shortage continues

TOOELE, Utah — Alyssa Chitti has three freezers stuffed with breastmilk.

“I determine I am operating out of room, so may as effectively assist another person,” she stated laughing. “I do know I’ve over 3,000 ounces. 3,000 ounces downstairs and possibly virtually 1,000 upstairs.”

At first, she needed to donate all of it to a neighborhood milk financial institution, but it surely was a lot simpler to listing it on-line.

“I’ve regarded into it,” stated Chitti. “I used to be working with a bunch on it, however my daughter has SMA, and we have been out and in of primaries, and so it is simply been exhausting to go do the bloodwork and go do all the opposite stuff, and that is the one factor that stopped me from doing that half.”

READ: Utah mothers assist one another discover child method as scarcity sweeps the nation

Mountain West Moms’ Milk Financial institution would wish greater than 300 donors to satisfy the wants locally. Throughout this donor scarcity, they’ve gotten right down to 175. Even when a whole bunch of girls volunteered to donate right this moment, it might nonetheless take months for the financial institution to satisfy the demand, stated Mary Callahan, the milk financial institution’s scientific coordinator.

“The donor screening course of, as a result of we’re very thorough and it does require blood checks, on common, it takes about 4 to 6 weeks,” Callahan stated. “We do have donors which can be motivated that may get it achieved in two. It could in all probability take us two to 3 months to essentially get to the place we will begin taking a look at offering for the outward neighborhood that is outdoors of the hospital.”

Chitti hoped to promote her breast milk at $1 per ounce, however she’s prepared to barter with mothers as a result of she understands what they’re going via, she stated.

“It was making me nervous, simply because so my daughter was very, very colicky,” stated Chitti. “And I do know a whole lot of mothers want particular formulation for infants with upset tummies, and I understand how exhausting it may be after they’re upset. There’s nothing you are able to do about that abdomen ache.”

Shopping for and promoting breast milk on-line is completely authorized; nevertheless, it’s unregulated. When human milk is obtained immediately from people or via the web, the donor is unlikely to have been screened for infectious illnesses or contamination threat, based on the FDA.