I've figured out that St. Louis is NOT a good city for breast milk donation. I've collected quite a freezer stash of milk, so I thought that I would look into donation rather than trying to cycle it out with the fresh milk for Ariella before it would get too old. After doing quite a bit of research, I found that there is nowhere local in St. Louis that accepts milk donation, which left only remote options. My pediatrician's office also did research and recommended the Mother's Milk Bank. It's based in Colorado and is a non-profit group that uses the milk for pre-mature babies in the NICU.
After doing an initial phone screening and filling out maybe 5 pages regarding health questions, etc (they are VERY thorough), it sounded like I qualified. They shipped me a box to pack the milk in, as well as some materials for a blood draw, and some additional forms. To ship the milk, I had to pack it in dry ice and had to ship it out the same day, overnight.
I scheduled my appointment to get the blood drawn (luckily my obgyn office agreed to do it for free since it was for the purpose of milk donation). Then, I went through the task of finding dry ice. Many cities sell dry ice from local grocery stores, Walmart, or FedEx. But, not St. Louis (at least not in any of the dozen or so places that I called). I was left with the option of a specialized ice store in Olivette (which is about 40 minutes from my house, but luckily it was not too much farther than my obgyn office).
All that was left was the FedEx store. I was lucky that I called, because not all FedEx locations ship dry ice (since it is classified as a "dangerous good"). The closest location for it was in Earth City, about 30 minutes from my house.
It was going to be quite the busy day - obgyn office, FedEx, home, doctor's appointment for Ariella (since she was a little sick), then home to pack up the milk, then to FedEx. But, I figured that it was all workable, even though it had required quite a bit of planning. The next obstacle came when I arrived for the blood draw. I gave the tech the bag with the materials (vials for the blood, instructions, etc). The problem was that the instructions called for 2 pearl topped vials and 1 gold top vial. However, there were 3 pearl top vials (no gold top). I called the lady at the Mother's Milk Bank, but I got her voicemail. It was so discouraging. I was thinking I'd have to call it quits and either try again another time or just give up. I was out of the office and almost to the elevator when the lady from the Milk Bank called me back. I went back in and let her talk with the tech. They worked out what they needed to do (luckily), so I was able to get the blood draw done. Then, Ariella and I waited for about 40 minutes while the blood samples had clotted and then were spun in the centrifuge.
The dry ice place went smoothly. I found it with no trouble (good directions from google maps). It was $.75 per pound, with a minimum of 6 pounds, but they didn't make me take the 6 pounds (the instructions said to use between 3-5 pounds in the box). Regardless, it wasn't expensive. We had Ariella's doctor's appointment after that (which I had to re-schedule for an hour later, since the blood draw took so long, but luckily they were accommodating). Her appointment went well. Her congestion was NOT in her lungs, so it was just a routine type of cold. Then, we went home and I packed up the milk, blood samples, and dry ice. I was able to fit 45 5oz bags in the box. I had more milk that I could have donated, but that was all that would fit.
Then, I was off to FedEx. That went smoothly, too, except for the part where they asked me for the monetary value of the package. I had no idea. I told them what it was, and they didn't make me name a value. In my opinion, the breast milk is priceless.
The next day, the lady from the Milk Bank called me and said that the milk had arrived. It was still frozen and still had some dry ice left. Yay!
Yesterday, though I got a call from the pediatrician's office saying that the form that was faxed to them needed to be sent to the obgyn, that they can't fill it out. I had filled out 2 consent forms - 1 for the pediatrician and 1 for the obgyn. All I can figure is that the milk bank mixed them up when sending them to the 2 offices. So, I sent an e-mail about that. I'm sure it will all get worked out, but it has been a process!
A lady from one of the newsgroups that I am part of gave me some perspective, though. She wrote, "That's really a great thing you are doing with your milk. I did the math, that's 225 ounces!! You may feed a sick or premature baby for several weeks singlehandedly!" Even though it's been quite a pain going though this process, it is an amazing feeling knowing that I was able to do this for some little babies.
