Donor Instructions

Each donor to the milk bank must be tested for HIV-1, HIV-2, HTLV1&2, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and Syphilis. Some of these tests may have been done by your OB during early pregnancy. Even though you may have had these tests done by your doctor before giving birth, they will need to be repeated by the milk bank. There is no charge to the donor for the tests. All test results are confidential. While the test for antibodies to the HIV-1, HIV-2, HTLV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C viruses detects almost everyone who carries the antibody to the virus, the test occasionally is falsely positive. If this occurs, a different test will be done to verify the results of the first test. If any of these tests are positive, you will be confidentially notified and the health care provider named on your screening form will be notified.

AIDS, or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, is a condition caused by HIV, the AIDS virus, in which the body’s normal defense mechanisms against certain infectious diseases are severely reduced. As a result, patients develop unusual infections and cancer, and ultimately die of these complications. There is no known cure for AIDS. Although some people may be infected by HIV and have no symptoms, it is believed that anyone infected by the virus may infect others by certain routes.

Any infant who receives donor milk is extremely vulnerable to infections. It is known that HIV can be spread via body fluids. HIV can be found in the milk of infected women. Therefore, if you are in any of the high-risk groups listed below, we are asking that you voluntarily refrain from applying to donate milk. We truly appreciate your willingness to understand the critical need for these voluntary screening procedures. Sometimes the best gift is no gift.

It is known that certain groups are at high risk of contracting HIV as well as passing it to others:

• Those with a positive result when tested for HIV.
• Those with symptoms and signs of AIDS, including unexplained enlarged lymph nodes, unexplained weight loss, night sweats, chronic diarrhea, fungal and viral infections of the mouth, or unexplained dark skin nodules.
• Sexual partners of HIV-positive individuals, or those who are at risk for HIV infection.
• Men who have ever had sex with another man since 1977.
• Present or past abusers of non-medical, injected drugs.
• Persons with hemophilia who have received clotting factor concentrates.
• Sexual partners of individuals in any of the above categories.
• Men or women who have engaged in sex for money or drugs within the last 12 months and persons who have been their sexual partners.

1. You, your baby, or any household member becomes ill. The exception to this is an uncomplicated cold, conjunctivitis (pinkeye), seasonal runny nose, allergies, coxsackie virus (hand, foot, and mouth disease), or Covid in which the sick person’s oral temperature is no higher than 100°F. Please do note names and dates of any medications you have taken. The sick person must not be in the same room with you while you pump milk. With all other illnesses or infectious exposures, call us to discuss deferral periods for milk donation.

2. Acceptable medications include plain acetaminophen or ibuprofen, cough drops, nasal sprays used for congestion or seasonal allergies, including saline, birth control in all forms, most vaccines except for small pox and oral typhoid, and topical medications that act locally. If you need to take any other medications or drugs, please check with us.

3. You have any breast tenderness. In the presence of plugged ducts or breast infection, unacceptable bacteria may be present in the milk. Do keep nursing your own baby and collecting milk even though it cannot be used by the MMBMS.

4. You use tobacco or nicotine in any form, including smoking cigarettes or cigars; use of nicotine vapes, e-cigarettes, hookah, or inhalers; chewing or pouch tobacco; nicotine gummies or lozenges; or nicotine gum or patches regularly.

5. You drink alcohol on a daily basis. Intermittent alcohol consumption requires a 6-hour deferral period following one serving of alcohol, and 12 hours following consumption of more than one serving.

   One serving is defined as:

   • 1.5 oz of hard liquor, shot or in a cocktail
   • 5 oz of wine
   • 12 oz of beer
   • 10 oz of wine cooler, hard seltzer, or hard cider

6. You use any recreational drugs such as marijuana, amphetamines, cocaine, heroin, or any narcotics not prescribed by your physician. This includes injecting, taking by mouth, including pills, capsules, or gummies, inhaling, smoking, vaping, or using creams or patches.

• All nursing mothers need to eat a balanced diet and stay well-hydrated.
• Vegans should be taking a daily multivitamin.
• Caffeine from tea, coffee, soda, or chocolate is acceptable if caffeine intake does not exceed more than the caffeine equivalent to that in 24 ounces of coffee per day. Cola and tea has less caffeine than coffee. If you are not sure, call us.
• Herbal teas are okay, but limit to one cup per day. If greater than 1 cup, vary the type of herb.
• Vitamins are acceptable in usual dosages. No mega-dosing. Check with us regarding herbs: most are ok, but a few should not be used by milk donors.

A federal law took effect on April 14, 2000, called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. One of the goals of this legislation is to set standards for the security and privacy of health information. Mothers’ Milk Bank of Mississippi (MMBMS) understands that medical information about clients is personal and we are committed to protecting this information. This notice describes how medical information about clients in our office may be used and disclosed, and how clients can get access to this information. We also describe client rights and certain obligations we have regarding the use and disclosure of medical information. Please review this carefully.

The HIPAA law of 1996 requires us to:

• Keep medical information that identifies clients private.
• Give clients notice of our legal duties and privacy practices with the respect to medical information about them.
• Follow the terms of this notice.

Any protected health information, such as individual identifiable information including names, date, phone/fax numbers, email addresses, and demographic data, may be used in connection with our services to a client, payment of an account, or health care operations. It is expected that any organization with which we share information is HIPAA compliant, and therefore ensuring the security of client information.

These are ways in which we may use or disclose medical information about a client:

• Health care providers may request information about a client in order to meet our needs. For instance, a prenatal care provider may request verification of a patient’s birth date before releasing results of their prenatal blood work to us. In another example, a baby’s pediatrician may request information on how milk has been supplied for the baby receiving donor milk.
• Medical information may be discussed with health insurers to verify eligibility for benefits, obtain prior authorization, or to bill and receive payment for the treatment and services provided by the MMBMS.
• Certifying, licensing, and accrediting bodies may request information about our donors or recipients in order to verify our operation and compliance with standards.
• Staff of the MMBMS may use information to contact clients in order to check on pumping progress, paperwork needs, or to inquire how an infant is progressing on donor milk. If we try to contact a client and they are not available we may leave a message with a family member or on an answering machine unless a client specifically asks us not to.
• We may display photos on our office bulletin board or online, including website, Facebook page, email, or newsletter, of donors or infants if they are sent to us by the donor or infant parent.
• We may provide medical information to our business associates so that they can perform certain functions or services on our behalf. These associates could include hospitals, blood and tissue laboratories, or fundraiser organizations.
• We will disclose medical information about a client if we are required to do so by federal, state, or local law.
• We may disclose medical information about a client when necessary to prevent a serious threat to a client’s health and safety or that of another person or the public.
• We may disclose medical information about a client for public health activities. These activities may include the prevention or control of disease, reporting of donor milk recipients, or reporting laboratory test results.
• We may disclose information to researchers when their research has been approved by an institutional review board that has reviewed the research proposal and established protocols to ensure the privacy of a client’s health.
• Inadvertent disclosures of information may happen as a result of people overhearing conversations in the MMBMS offices. Every effort will be made to prevent this from happening.

These are the ways in which we keep personal health information private:

• Personal health information is kept in individual locking files in our office. The office is unlocked during office hours when staff members are present, but locked at all other times.
• Staff and volunteers who access files will be trained in issues of confidentiality and privacy.
• Publications coming from the MMBMS office will contain no personal health information.
• If someone requests information from a medical record for a legitimate reason, this will be documented in the client’s file.
• Personnel trained in confidentiality and privacy issues access the electronic records only through the MMBMS’s computers.
• Milk containers with personal identifiers on them will be kept in bags in the freezer, accessed only by staff and volunteers trained in confidentiality and privacy issues.

Persons potentially inadvertently exposed to private information include:

• Volunteers
• Staff of the MMBMS
• Breast milk donors
• Vendors
• Students working at the MMBMS
• Breast milk recipients or their guardians

Individual rights under this agreement:

• A client has the right to inspect or copy their record. To do this, please submit your request in writing to the privacy officer of the MMBMS.
• Amend the information contained in your record. Please send your written request to the privacy officer.
• Request an accounting of all disclosures of health information. Please send written requests to the privacy officer.
• Request restrictions of access to a client record. Please send written request to the privacy officer.
• A client may also issue a complaint, without risk of retaliation, to the privacy officer of MMBMS or to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

This notice is included here for your review. When you sign the Donor Consent Form in the Donor Interview, you acknowledge that you have received and understand this notice. Thank you.