Neokare 2.0 – milk provider FAQ’s
Milk Providers – Frequently Asked Questions
You can register your interest at https://neokare.co.uk/become-a-milk-donor/ or send an email to our dedicated milk provider coordinator: claudia@neokare.co.uk
You will be sent a preliminary screening questionnaire to complete and return to us.
You can donate only the milk which is excess after feeding your own baby.
To ensure your milk stays frozen in transit, milk providers will need to ship at least 6L/200oz of breastmilk in each cooler. This will keep the contents of the cooler cold enough to delay defrosting during shipment overnight. We also recommend filling any gaps inside the cooler with paper to reduce air circulation. If you live local to the facility and have less than this amount of breast milk, you are welcome to drop your milk off.
The milk provider screening involves filling out a short initial questionnaire, completing online registration forms (medical history & GP details), carrying out a blood test, and the testing of your milk shipment for alkalinity and other mineral properties in your milk, along with testing for
bacteria and viruses.
NeoKare provides breast milk products to the most fragile of babies, therefore safety is paramount. The blood tests are carried out to ensure all potential milk providers are free of the following blood borne diseases before any shipment of milk can be processed.
– Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) 1 & 2
– Hepatitis B & C
– Human T Cell Lymphotropic Virus (HTLV) 1 & 2
– Syphilis
Your breast milk will be heat treated (pasteurised) and then freeze dried into a human milk breast milk fortifier that supports the nutrition of premature and low birth weight and sick babies on NICU. The fortifier is mixed with a mother’s own milk to increase the nutritional content to support growth and nutrition in babies who are born too soon or low birth weight.
The collected milk is stored in a deep freezer of -20 degrees until processing. It goes through stringent pre-pasteurization testing and then processed using specialised proprietary equipment & technology.
The stored milk is then used to manufacture human milk fortifiers in powder form made exclusively from 100% breast milk for preterm babies across the United Kingdom.
A small number of protective components are lost in the process. However, pasteurising breastmilk is vital as the process destroys potentially harmful bacteria and viruses, yet still retains all the nutrients and most of the immune properties of the breast milk.
NeoKare production process and finished products have been scientifically validated to maintain the critical components of breast milk including immunoglobulins and HMOs (Human Milk Oligosaccharides). HMOs play a crucial role in promoting infant health, immune system development, and gut microbiota. (They have a prebiotic effect, reduce infections, can reduce the inflammatory process in the bowel, support brain development, and reduce the risk of Necrotising Enterocolitis (NEC)
Once your blood test results have been received the turnaround time for testing your batch of breast milk and providing results via the milk provider portal can take between 3-10 working days depending on the quantity of milk providers coolers received for testing in the same week.
Milk reimbursement is done based on the current rate fixed by the company. As an example, If the rate is GBP 1.00/oz the process is as follows:
- Once we receive your cooler, your milk will be weighed on arrival in kilograms deducting the weight of the milk storage bags.
- The recorded weight (kg) will then be converted to litres factoring in the gravity of milk (1.03).
- The quantity in litres is then converted to fluid ounces.
- From this we are then able to calculate your reimbursement at the current rate by multiplying the amount of milk in fluid ounces by GBP 1.00. Please see below for example.
Example: 10kg (weight of milk minus bags) /1.03 (gravity of milk) = 9.71 litres of milk
9.71 x 33.81 (converts litres to ounces) = 328.29 ounces.
328.29 oz x 1.00£ = £328.29
The above calculation is applicable to 100% pass rated coolers. This amount can vary according to the quality of the milk.
Yes, on successfully completing the screening and necessary milk provider tests we can accept milk expressed/pumped up to 2 months prior to registration. This milk must have been dated at the time of collection. Prior expressed milk must have also been frozen immediately, not mixed with other pumping sessions, and pump parts sterilised between use.
Human milk is very temperature sensitive and thus needs to be stored in a freezer at the specified temperature to avoid chemical reactions and bacterial growth. Any big temperature fluctuations can cause bacterial growth in the milk and may lead to acidity. High acidity in breast milk can lead to the breakdown of important nutrients such as vitamins and proteins, which are essential for the baby’s growth and development. It may also cause digestive discomfort in some infants, such as gas or fussiness, and can disrupt the balance of beneficial bacteria, potentially affecting the milk’s microbiological quality. Additionally, high acidity can impact the stability of breast milk during storage, leading to faster spoilage and changes in consistency and colour of the milk. The freezer where you store your expressed milk should be kept at a consistent temperature of less than -18 degrees. NeoKare provide a thermometer and temperature sheet so you can record daily temperatures. If you are concerned, please contact one of the milk coordinators.
Additionally, expressed breast milk can become contaminated due to a variety of reasons; when a mother is already carrying an infection, not maintaining proper hygiene or if the breast pumps used for expression are not cleaned and sterilised between pumping sessions.
Yes, you can have alcohol and be a milk provider with NeoKare.
However please avoid drinking more than 1-2 units of alcohol once or twice a week. The level of alcohol peaks between 30-90 minutes after a drink. The NHS and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) advise it is better to avoid breastfeeding for 2-3 hours after drinking alcohol.
One unit of alcohol is approximately:
- a single (25ml) measure of spirits
- half a pint of beer
- 125ml (small) glass of wine
Regularly drinking above the recommended limits can be harmful for you and your baby. If you have drunk any alcohol, you should never share a bed or sofa with your baby. Please see the NHS information on ‘Breastfeeding and drinking alcohol’ and ‘Drinking alcohol’ for more
information.
Drinking alcohol – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
We should state that we signpost all milk providers to the NICE Guideline for the Operation of a Human Milk Bank to determine whether their milk can be accepted or not.
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg93/chapter/Recommendations
Once your first batch of milk is received, blood samples are processed, and the lab has completed testing on your batch of milk, compensation will be made within 14 days after all results are collated.
For subsequent coolers, payment will be made within 14 days of receiving each cooler.
Unfortunately, NeoKare are not able to accept your breastmilk if you currently smoke or use any form of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), including vaping and E-cigarettes, or if your partner or other household member smokes or vapes in the house.
However, you are recommended to continue breastfeeding as the recommendations for milk providers are different from those who are breastfeeding their own baby.
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg93/chapter/Recommendations
If you would like support to reduce or stop smoking, please see the NHS guidance below.
Breastfeeding and smoking – NHS www.nhs.uk
All our milk providers will have access to our community portal. From the portal you are able to order coolers to be shipped to your home. Each cooler will contain 2 boxes (50 x 200ml collection bags in each box) of NeoKare pre-sterilised milk storage bags, a liner to pack your frozen milk into, four reusable ice blocks, a thermometer, a freezer temperature sheet, labels for milk bags, a shipment form and return shipment labels.
There are some medicines, over the counter drugs or herbal remedies that are not permitted to be used while being a milk provider. Please get in touch with us so we can advise you whether to suspend collecting breast milk (for example we will not be able to accept breast milk expressed during a course of antibiotic treatment and as well as milk expressed within 24-72 hours after you have finished the treatment depending on the medication).
Please contact your coordinator so we can give you more specifics based on the exact medication being taken.
Most minor illnesses will not affect your milk. However, please inform your coordinator so we can provide you with appropriate advice and support. It is important to contact us if you develop lesions or infections of the breasts (including mastitis or herpes) to discuss your next steps for milk provision during the period of infection. Your milk coordinator will also advise you on the next steps for milk provision during the period of infection.
We use a pan-England courier service as our delivery partner. However, we are currently not able to collect donations from Northern Ireland or Scotland due to them not being able to guarantee next day delivery by 12pm. This decision was made due to the risk of potential delays which can lead to your milk defrosting in transit. We are currently working to find a solution to this so we can reach potential milk providers in these locations.
To minimise the risk of your milk being contaminated with bacteria we ask you to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water before expressing your breast milk. Also to ensure the expressing kits are thoroughly washed with hot soapy water and rinsed before sterilising.
There are many pumps available to buy. If you have a good milk supply and surplus milk to send to NeoKare, you will not need anything expensive or high tech! The most important aspect to consider is that your pump is reliable.
You may not necessarily need to have an electric pump – a small hand operated pump could be all that you need to express a large amount of milk easily and quickly. Things that might influence your choice are portability if you pump outside of the home, and a bra-worn electric pump or something small to carry in your bag in this instance could be useful.
Please note: If you do express your milk outside of the home, please be sure to store it in a clean cool bag with frozen gel packs to cool it quickly and stay at low temperatures that prevent any bacteria from multiplying. Please transfer it immediately to your freezer once you get home
On the rare occasion that a cooler is lost in transit or arrives damaged we provide a reimbursement of 50% to our milk providers based on the recorded weight/quantity of milk previously shipped coolers.
