Mother's Milk Depot

Breast milk for babies in need.

Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns Mother’s Milk Depot serves premature babies and others in need by providing breast milk that has been donated by carefully screened, healthy nursing mothers who have an extra supply. Sharp provides a collection station for the mothers and ships the frozen donations to the Mother’s Milk Bank at Valley Medical Center for pasteurization. The pasteurized milk is then shipped back to Sharp Mary Birch for distribution to babies in need.

Breast milk benefits premature babies like no other food because:

  • Human milk causes the intestines to mature faster
  • Human milk empties from the stomach faster 
  • Human milk-fed infants have less blood infection and preemie eye disease
  • Infants fed human milk tend to spend fewer days in the hospital

Besides premature babies, other recipients have included babies, children and adults with the following health needs:

  • Allergies or sensitivities to formulas
  • Cancer chemotherapy patients
  • Failure to thrive (FTT)
  • Gastrointestinal problems
  • Immune deficiencies 
  • Malabsorption syndromes
  • Postsurgical nutrition
  • Short gut syndrome
  • Solid organ transplants (including adults)

Ordering Pasteurized Milk
Pasteurized breast milk is available through Sharp Mary Birch to all infants in need with a doctor’s prescription. The prescription must include the medical reason, amount and length of time that the milk is needed.

If supplies are adequate, milk is also available to the groups mentioned above.

For More Information
For general information, please call the Mother’s Milk Depot in San Jose, Calif., at 408-998-4550. If you're a patient and have questions, a breast milk prescription and/or wish to donate milk, please call 858-493-8485.