Among many organizations such as Human Milk 4 Human Babies (HM4HB) and Eats on Feets, selling breastmilk is not allowed. Members may be potentially removed or banned if they are found to be selling their milk. Many people believe it is unethical to be selling and turning a profit from a vital need of many babies and feel moms should only donate if they have excess milk. It is often believed that breastmilk is a right and not a privilege so it should be available to all babies, not just for moms that can pay for it when they are unable to produce enough on their own or have medical complications that prevent them from nursing.
Still, there are moms on the buying end that may need consideration. What would make a mom buy milk when they can get it for free? For some, they may be unaware of milksharing organizations like HM4HB or Eats on Feets. They may not find donors on those sites if they are aware they exist. One mom I donated to had no other respondents to her milk requests despite several postings. Buying may be a last option for some moms, but it's there, and when it often costs half the price they'd pay for milk from a milk bank, it's worth it.
I have mentioned in a previous post some of the ugly sides of donating milk from a personal stand point, but when money enters the picture of milk donation, it can get even uglier. There are some truly unethical practices that can and do occur when it comes to the distribution of excess breastmilk. It is eye-opening and moms on all side of breastmilk distribution need to be aware it happens.
Some moms feel they are doing the right thing by donating with no monetary gain when they donate to some milk banks. Sadly, there are many organizations that collect milk that eventually is sent to a for-profit milk bank, essentially, someone is making money off of milk they gave for free and with the best intentions. In some cases, the collection organization is making money when the for-profit milk bank buys it from them (you can read more about that here). The company then goes to sell the milk after processing for a much larger fee. While it is true that non-profit milk banks still charge for their milk, they set prices only to cover their costs and they have programs in place to provide milk to babies in need regardless of their family's ability to pay. Many moms are unaware when they give their milk to some places (those not associated with the Human Milk Banking Association of North America), it is being sold - this is especially important to know if the mom does not agree with selling milk.
On the individual end, there also may be some very unsavory practices when people are involved in selling milk. It's hard to imagine that some people that spend the time to pump milk would have unethical practices, but there may be people to get into selling to turn a serious profit and as a result may alter the make-up of the milk like adding cow milk or water to stretch their supply and therefore their profit, a point that was mentioned in an article I read discussing the ethics of milk selling. Still other people could act as a recipient and turn around and sell milk they received for free - similar to the companies doing it, but this time it's an individual. For this reason, many people try to get to know their recipients as much as recipients try to get to know their donors.
For many, selling milk is a good option, just like selling plasma, for others, it's unethical. Until recently, I avoided thinking about it, but now that I have, I'm more educated on some of the ins and outs. Sadly, there is a lot more grey on the topic than black and white, so forming an opinion may not be as easy as it seems. Certainly avoiding those with unethical practices is key in all areas, as are open lines of communication and making sure you have all the information. Whatever your personal opinions on the topic, it's best to make sure you are as informed as possible, which is the case in so many other situations as well.
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