Lafayette General Medical Center Opens First Breast Milk Donation Site in Southwest Louisiana

Lafayette General Medical Center (LGMC) is the first breast milk depot in Southwest Louisiana. The demand for human donor breast milk in hospital neonatal intensive care units (NICU) continues to rise across the country. The new milk bank depot at LGMC makes it easier for lactating women in Southwest Louisiana to donate this scarce resource.

The milk depot is serviced by Mother’s Milk Bank at Austin (MMBA). Women who are breastfeeding infants under 12 months old, are eligible to be screened at no charge to become an approved breast milk donor. Collection sites such as LGMC are called ‘depots’, because they function as a user-friendly and safe satellite storage facility. The milk is kept frozen before it is shipped to MMBA for pasteurization.

Nonprofit milk banks like MMBA ensure donor human breast milk is safe and available to the infants who need it most. The pasteurized breast milk dispensed is specifically processed to meet the specific needs of fragile and sick babies.

“After my son was born, I had extra milk stored that I didn’t know what to do with,” said Meghan Allen, current milk bank donor. “Then I heard about milk donation. I contacted the milk bank and became a registered donor. It’s been very rewarding, and every little bit counts. It could help save a baby’s life.”

Mothers who would like to become a registered donor should contact Laura Tankersley at MMBA by calling 512-494-0800 or emailing laurat@milkbank.org. Once the screening process is complete, women may conveniently drop off frozen breast milk at LGMC located at 1214 Coolidge Street in Lafayette, Monday – Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. You don’t even have to leave your car. View our drop-off procedure at the Lafayette General Milk Bank Depot.

LGMC has five international board-certified lactation consultants and three certified lactation counselors available to assist breastfeeding women. For questions about the milk bank depot at LGMC and drop-off times, please call Darlene Leblanc at 337-289-7785 or 337-289-7782.

LGMC is the third milk bank depot in the state. Milk bank depots are also located at Ochsner Baptist Medical Center in New Orleans and Birth Center of Baton Rouge.