The Quad Cities will soon be home to the first human milk depot in northwestern Illinois. The Rock Island County Health Department's Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) clinic in Moline will accept donations of breast milk for sick and premature babies.
Janet Hill, the health department's Chief Operating Officer, says potential donors can pick up an interest form from the WIC (wick) clinic, and accepted donors will go through a screening process that includes a blood test.
Hill says the donated milk has an important role to play. "It has antibodies that formula does not contain, and it helps babies fight infection. When you have a child in the NICU [Neonatal Intensive Care Unit], they're already at risk for major health problems. So, the breast milk will help keep them well."
A ribbon cutting for the Quad Cities location is set for October 22nd.
This milk depot joins others in Illinois as part of the Mothers' Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes, an organization with locations across the state, including Chicago and its suburbs, plus Rockford, Bloomington, and Peoria.