title: Human milk banking guidelines.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  WHO and UNICEF state that the use of human milk from other sources should be the first alternative when it is not possible for the mother to breastfeed. Human milk banks should be made available in appropriate situations. The IYCF Chapter is actively concerned about the compelling use of formula feeds in the infants because of the non availability of human breast milk banks.
  
  
  METHODS
  A National Consultative Meet for framing guidelines was summoned by the IYCF Chapter and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India on 30th June, 2013, with representations from various stakeholders. The guidelines were drafted after an extensive literature review and discussions. Though these guidelines are based on the experiences and guidelines from other countries, changes have been made to suit the Indian setup, culture and needs, without compromising scientific evidence.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To ensure quality of donated breast milk as a safe end product.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Human Milk Banking Association should be constituted, and human milk banks should be established across the country. National coordination mechanism should be developed with a secretariat and technical support to follow-up on action in States. Budgetary provisions should be made available for the activities.
authors.affiliation: for the Infant and Young Child Feeding Chapter, Indian Academy of Pediatrics Correspondence to: drsatishtiwari@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ketan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bharadva
authors.forename: Satish
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tiwari
authors.forename: Sudhir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mishra
authors.forename: Kanya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mukhopadhyay
authors.forename: Balraj
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yadav
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Agarwal
authors.forename: Vishesh
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kumar
mesh_terms: D001942:Breast Feeding; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D017784:Milk Banks / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards / Q000600:supply & distribution; D008895:Milk, Human; D014480:United Nations; D014944:World Health Organization