MONROVIA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Prolacta Bioscience, the first and only company to offer human milk fortifier (HMF) made from 100% human breast milk for critically ill, premature infants, has announced their initial donation of $7500 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation®. Prolacta’s donation is part of an annual sponsorship of the Make-A-Wish Foundation that commenced in November 2011. The sponsorship guarantees a minimum annual donation of $30,000 from Prolacta.
The financial donations from Prolacta are being made as a result of breast milk donations made through the Milk for Wishes Milk Bank (MFW). Under the sponsorship, Prolacta donates one dollar to the Make-A-Wish Foundation for every ounce of qualified breast milk collected through MFW. MFW was established to provide human milk-based products to premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), as well as to help the Make-A-Wish Foundation grant wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.
Breast milk that is donated through MFW is used by Prolacta to make human milk-based nutritional products to benefit critically ill, premature infants who are hospitalized in NICUs throughout the U.S. Premature infants have increased nutritional needs above what can be provided by their mother’s milk or donor milk alone, so the breast milk that is fed to them needs to be fortified with added nutrients. Prolacta’s Prolact+ H2MF® is the first and only commercially available HMF made from 100% human milk for premature infants who are born weighing between 500 and 1250g. Prior to Prolact+ H2MF, cow milk-based HMF was the only option neonatologists had for premature infant feeding fortification in the NICU.
Several studies point to the benefits of using human milk in premature infant nutrition over cow milk-based nutrition. One such study was published in the Journal of Pediatrics in 2010. It concluded that when Prolact+ H2MF was added to human milk, the odds of developing necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) was reduced by 77% in premature infants weighing between 500 and 1250g at birth, when compared to infants receiving human milk fortified with cow milk-based HMF or, when supply or mother's own milk was insufficient, preterm infant formula. NEC is a dangerous intestinal condition that often affects extremely preterm infants, in which the intestinal tissue disintegrates1 (http://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(09)01085-3/abstract).
Mothers who wish to learn more information, or to find out if they qualify to donate milk may visit www.milkforwishes.com.
About the Make-A-Wish Foundation
The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. According to a 2011 study of wish impact, most health professionals surveyed say a wish come true can affect their health outcomes. Kids say wishes give them renewed strength to fight their illness, and their parents say these experiences strengthen the entire family. Based in Phoenix, the Foundation is one of the world’s leading children’s charities, serving children in every community in the United States, its territories and in 47 countries on five continents. With the help of generous donors and more than 30,000 volunteers worldwide, the Make-A-Wish Foundation grants a wish somewhere in the world every 23 minutes. It has granted more than 280,000 wishes since its inception in 1980. Visit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America at www.wish.org and discover how you can share the power of a wish®.
About Prolacta
Prolacta Bioscience, Inc. (www.prolacta.com) is a life science company dedicated to improving quality of life by Advancing the Science of Human MilkTM. Prolacta creates specialty formulations made exclusively from human milk for the nutritional needs of critically ill, premature infants in neonatal intensive care units. It is the first and only company to provide a human milk fortifier made from 100% human milk, Prolact+ H2MF. They operate a pharmaceutical grade processing plant and have designed and patented processes that enable them to make their one-of-a-kind life saving products. Prolacta is committed to making a meaningful difference in the lives of the most vulnerable infants through world-class research and innovative products.
1Sullivan S, Schanler RJ, Kim JH et al. An exclusively human milk-based diet is associated with a lower rate of necrotizing enterocolitis than a diet of human milk and bovine milk based products. J Pediatr. 2009:156(4):562-567.