The Hearts Milk Bank has launched a new programme of support for milk donors in partnership with Elvie UK, to offer mums who wish to donate their milk following the death of their baby the use of a free breast pump if they are otherwise unable to access one. The milk bank, supported by the charity The Human Milk Foundation provides donor human milk to sick premature babies in hospital neonatal intensive care units and to mums at home with cancer and other conditions. Much like donated blood, donor human milk can be life-saving for tiny babies.
The Hearts Milk Bank wishes to thank and honour each and every one of their bereaved milk donors for their selfless gift. To mark this project, illustrator Emily Culpeper (@culpepercreates) has donated a thank you card design featuring the snowdrop flower – known as ‘the milk flower’, which will be sent to every bereaved milk donor on behalf of the families they have helped. The charity team is also embarking on a project to plant a crop of snowdrop flowers in the shape of a heart outside the milk bank at the Rothamsted Institute, Harpenden. This will be the first in a series of beautiful local sites designed to raise awareness of the importance of milk banking and the life-saving gift of milk donation.