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Retrospective review of serological testing of potential human milk donors
Ronald S Cohen1, Sean C Xiong, Pauline Sakamoto
1Division of Neonatal and Developmental Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, USA. rscohen@Stanford.edu
Insights
A significant number of potential human milk donors screened positive for infections like HIV and hepatitis. This highlights risks associated with distributing unscreened human milk, emphasizing the need for thorough donor screening.
Area of Science:
- Infectious disease screening
- Human milk banking
- Public health
Background:
- Human milk banking is crucial for neonatal care.
- Donor screening is essential to prevent pathogen transmission.
- Previous data on seroprevalence in milk donors is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the prevalence of infectious diseases among potential human milk donors.
- To assess the risk of disease transmission through unscreened human milk.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective review of serological test results from potential milk donors over six years.
- Screening included tests for syphilis, HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HTLV-1, and HTLV-2.
- Analysis of data from 1091 potential donors.
Main Results:
- 3.3% of potential donors (36 out of 1091) had positive serology.
- Specific infections detected: 6 syphilis, 17 hepatitis B, 3 hepatitis C, 6 HTLV, and 4 HIV.
- This indicates a notable incidence of infectious agents in this population.
Conclusions:
- A significant proportion of women expressing interest in donating human milk screen positive for infectious diseases.
- Unscreened human milk distribution poses considerable health risks.
- Rigorous serological screening of all human milk donors is critical.
Objective:
To estimate the prevalence of positive serology among potential donors to a human milk bank.
Design:
Retrospective review of our experience with donor serological testing at our milk bank over a 6-year interval.
Setting:
Not-for-profit, regional human milk bank.
Patients:
Volunteer, unpaid potential donors of human milk.
Interventions:
Serological testing for syphilis, HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, human T cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) and human T cell lymphotropic virus type 2 (HTLV-2).
Main Outcome Measures:
Results of serological screening tests performed on potential donors.
Results:
Of 1091 potential donors, 3.3% were positive on screening serology, including 6 syphilis, 17 hepatitis B, 3 hepatitis C, 6 HTLV and 4 HIV.
Conclusions:
There is a significant incidence of positive serology among women interested in donating human milk. This implies that there may be significant risk associated with peer-to-peer distribution of human milk from unscreened donors.
