Top News

New Delhi: Indian badminton star and Commonwealth Games gold medalist Jwala Gutta is currently a topic of discussion across the country despite being away from the playing field. Actually, Jwala Gutta has done something during her first year (postpartum period) after becoming a mother, which has won everyone’s heart. Writing an unmatched story of humanity, she has donated about 60 liters of breast milk. This champion, who used to hit sixes of her opponents on the playground, has now written a new chapter of love and service, which is being highly appreciated all around. Jwala Gutta herself has given this information by sharing a post on her social media platform X (earlier Twitter). He told that he has donated this 60 liters of milk to the ‘Human Milk Bank’ set up in government hospitals of Hyderabad and Chennai so that the lives of newborn babies can be saved.

Big step taken to save the lives of innocent people

The main objective behind this big step of Jwala Gutta is to save the lives of extremely weak and sick innocent babies admitted in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of hospitals. In fact, in the NICU of hospitals, many such newborn babies, who are born prematurely, are struggling between life and death. Apart from this, many children are so physically weak or are facing some serious medical complication that they are not able to get their own mother’s milk immediately. This donated milk is no less than nectar for such children.

Just 100 ml milk can save life for many days

Explaining the importance of this campaign, the star badminton player said that with just 100 ml of milk donated, a small and weak child weighing 1 kg can get adequate nutrition for several days. This donation of 60 liters of milk made by Jwala Gutta has so far helped in saving the lives of dozens of innocent children and giving them a new life. Seeing his efforts, everyone from fans to sports personalities are saluting him.

Mother’s milk protects premature babies from deadly diseases

According to medical experts, mother’s milk acts as a protective shield for premature babies. It greatly reduces the risk of ‘Necrotizing Enterocolitis’, a very dangerous and fatal intestinal disease in premature babies. However, the level of awareness regarding breast milk donation is still very low in India. Keeping this in mind, Jwala Gutta has shared pictures with milk bags so that other healthy mothers also come forward for this noble cause. He clarified that this entire process is completely safe and scientifically tested.

Can any mother donate breast milk?

This question often arises in people’s minds whether breast milk can really be donated? So the answer is yes. In medical science, it has been considered the world’s most precious and life-saving gift for newborn babies. For this, ‘Human Milk Banks’ are regularly operated all over the world including India. Any lactating mother can voluntarily donate milk, provided she is completely healthy and does not have any serious infectious disease like HIV or hepatitis. Along with this, she should be producing surplus milk after fulfilling the needs of her child and should not consume any kind of intoxicants or harmful medicines.

This nectar is useful for these destitute and sick children.

This donated milk is mainly used for those babies who are born prematurely i.e. before 9 months or whose birth weight is very low. Apart from this, this milk is also given to orphan or adopted children who do not have a mother. Many times, after delivery, the mother becomes seriously ill or does not produce enough milk, in such a situation this milk stored in the milk bank proves to be life saving for the newborn.

The milk bank process is extremely safe; This is how care is taken

In Human Milk Bank, milk is stored in a very safe and completely scientific manner, following strict safety standards:

• • medical screening: Before collecting milk, the health and medical history of the donor mother is completely examined.

• • Pasteurization: To eliminate any bacteria and viruses present in milk, it is heated to a certain temperature and then cooled immediately.

• • Lab Testing: After the pasteurization process is completed, the purity and safety of the milk is thoroughly tested again in the laboratory.

• • Deep Freezing: After passing all the tests, this safe milk is deep frozen at a harsh temperature of -20 degrees Celsius, due to which it remains completely safe and full of nutrients for many months.

India’s leading human milk banks, where you can contact

These centers have been named ‘Comprehensive Lactation Management Centers’ (CLMC) under the National Health Mission (NHM) of the Government of India. These banks are operating in major cities of the country:

• • Delhi-NCR: ‘Amaara Milk Bank’, located near Saket and Greater Kailash, provides the best facility to collect milk from mothers’ homes in Delhi-NCR.

• • Mumbai: Mumbai’s Sion Hospital (Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital) is very special, because it is here that Asia’s first human milk bank was opened. Apart from this, KEM Hospital also has this facility.

• • Bengaluru: Milk can be donated to ‘Breast Milk Foundation’ here on Richmond Road and Bangalore Baptist Hospital (Hebbal).

• • Hyderabad: ‘Dhaatri Milk Bank’ is providing its services in Niloufer Hospital and Red Hills.

• • Pune and Jaipur: This facility is available in ‘Surya Hospitals’ in both these cities.

• • Rajasthan: A large and successful network of ‘Anchal Mothers Milk Bank’ is being run by the Rajasthan Government in the state.

Step-by-step easy process to donate milk

If any healthy mother wants to contribute to this noble cause, she can donate milk through these 5 very easy steps:

1. 1. Milk Bank Contact: First of all, contact the nearest human milk bank of your city or a government/private hospital where NICU facility is operational.

1. 1. medical screening: After this, the milk bank team takes a short interview of the donor mother and looks at her blood test reports (HIV, Hepatitis B and C) to ensure the safety of the milk.

1. 1. Availability of containers and kits: After getting approval as a donor, the milk bank provides the mother with special sterilized bottles, bags and milk pumps as per requirement.

1. 1. Expressing and storing milk: The mother expresses (expresses) the milk by washing her hands thoroughly in a completely clean environment. After this, after writing the date and time on this bottle, it is immediately kept in the home freezer (-18°C or less).

1. 1. Free Pick-up and Collection: Many reputable organizations like Amara or SaveBabies provide free milk pickup from the donor mother’s home through a cold-chain container. Apart from this, mothers themselves can go to the nearest bank and deposit it.