About the Nonprofit
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The Mothers' Milk Bank at Austin (MMBA) saves babies' lives by providing prescribed, pasteurized donor human milk. Founded in 1998 by Drs. Audelio Rivera and the late George Sharp, MMBA was created so that no family would have to experience the unnecessary death of their baby due to lack of human milk. Premature infants fed formula in the neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) experience disproportionately higher morbidity and mortality rates as compared to those receiving their own mothers' milk. In particular, these fragile babies are predisposed to experience necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), an inflammatory condition which carries a 60% risk of death, and results in lifelong complications for those babies who do survive. Research confirms that when a premature baby is fed a human milk only diet their risk of developing NEC is reduced by up to 75%. Regrettably, the mothers of preterm infants are often those least likely to be able to provide milk for their babies, and it's the reason why MMBA was created; to safely provide DHM to medically-fragile babies who otherwise would not survive. Our efforts to improve the survival and health outcomes of Austin's premature infants were successful in the first year of operations--leading to the expansion of services to other areas of the US. Today, MMBA is recognized as a leader in the milk banking industry, not only as the largest provider of DHM to vulnerable infants, but also for pioneering the nutritional analysis and labeling of DHM, enabling the standardization and optimal processing of milk sent to NICUs. We currently serve more than 7,500 babies annually in 160 NICUs in Texas and 25 other states, in addition to nearly 300 medically-fragile infants in their homes who remain dependent on DHM following their discharge from the hospital. Approximately 2% of all babies born in Central Texas are born premature, and nearly all will receive DHM dispensed by MMBA. Many of these babies will continue to receive DHM throughout their months-long NICU stay, and some will continue to be dependent on DHM even when stable enough to finally join their families at home. Milk has to be heat processed and tested in several ways before it is safe for fragile babies. Currently, very few insurance or Medicaid programs cover the milk processing fee when DHM is provided outside of a hospital setting, and many families are unable to afford it. MMBA is committed to providing DHM for as long as it is needed. Our philanthropic Charitable Care Program ensures that any baby with a medical need will receive the prescribed milk regardless of insurance coverage or the family's ability to pay. In 2020, we granted over $350,000 of charitable assistance and anticipate we will grant a minimum $400,000 this year as economic instability of the nation negatively affects insurance and families’ personal wealth. Thanks to philanthropic gifts from funders like TLLC we expanded our assistance program this year to include healthy babies who were breastfed successfully until their mothers became tragically ill and no longer could breastfeed. These mothers with cancer, COVID, or who were involved in serious accidents were unable to care for their infants so MMBA stepped in to help.
