Our Process
Follow the Milk (Our Process)
At Milk Bank Nigeria, every drop of donated milk follows a 9-step safety process:
- Collecting & Screening Donor Milk
- Thawing frozen milk
- Pooling milk from screened donors
- Pre-pasteurisation testing
- Bottling into sterile containers
- Pasteurisation at 62.5°C for 30 minutes
- Independent lab testing
- Freezing and storage
- Dispensing to babies in need
Step 1:
Collecting & Screening Donor Milk
Donated breast milk from screened donors are collected and stored for processing.
Step 2:
Thawing Frozen Milk
Milk is slowly thawed overnight in refrigerators until it reaches a cold liquid state we can work with in our lab.
Step 3:
Pooling Milk from Screened Donors
We pour milk from their original storage containers into large flasks, and use an agitation method to uniformly combine milk from 2-5 donors.
Step 4:
Pre-pasteurisation Testing
Each donor’s deposit of milk is tested before mixed into the targeted pools. We need to know what bacteria are in the milk before we pasteurise.
Step 5:
Bottling into Sterile Containers
Milk is poured into our custom bottles with a custom-designed machine that puts just the right number of drops into each bottle.
Step 6:
Pasteurisation
We heat each bottle of milk to 62.5 °C for 30 minutes in a process called Holder Pasteurisation, then quickly cool the milk in ice baths. This 2-part process kills viruses and bacteria that could be harmful to fragile babies, while retaining most of the milk’s good components.
Step 7:
Independent Lab Testing
Another sample from each batch of pasteurised milk is sent out to the 3rd party lab for evidence that all harmful bacteria and viruses were successfully removed.
Step 8:
Freezing and Storage
All the bottles of our life-saving milk are labelled and stored in our walk-in freezers until they’re called to duty.
Step 9:
Dispensing to Babies in Need
We get calls from hospitals and families, ordering milk for the babies in their care. Thanks to the amazing gift of milk from our donors, we’re able to customize each order, sending milk with the right amount of nutrients for each baby.
Do You Want to Request for Breast Milk?
Please Click on the Link Below to Fill Our Milk Recipient Form.