First human milk bank debuts in Hanoi capital
A human milk bank was inaugurated at the Vietnam National Hospital of Pediatrics in Hanoi on March 22 after a four month trial period.
The bank, the first of its kind in Hanoi and Vietnam operating inside the pediatrics hospital, is being sponsored by the Irish Government, as well as the Alive & Thrive and Newborns Vietnam organisation.
The milk bank has been designed to support over 1,000 premature, low birth weight, and pathological children who are receiving treatment at the Vietnam National Hospital of Pediatrics, enabling them to enjoy the full benefits of breast milk.
The bank is expected to supply pasteurised breast milk to hospitals in Hanoi and other cities and provinces across the north of the country.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Minh Dien, director of the Vietnam National Hospital of Pediatrics, said pasteurised breast milk is considered a special medicine given to infants who are seriously ill and treated at the hospital.
After four months of trials, the facility received 600 litres of breast milk from 38 mothers, helping to provide pasteurized milk for 280 children, including 62 children infected with COVID-19 or whose mothers had tested positive for COVID-19.
The human milk bank is one of seven breast milk banks and satellite breast milk banks which are currently operating in Vietnam.
