New Jersey is working on establishing human breast milk banks.
A bill that would authorize New Jersey's Health Department to give licenses to businesses to open human breast milk banks made it through the state Senate Budget Committee on Monday,
NJ.com is reporting.
Such a bank would select donors, manage collections, processing, storage and distribution to families who either are unable to nurse or have lactation problems.
According to a report in Wired, one breast milk donor with a supply of about 30 ounces a day made as much as $20,000 per year.
The New Jersey Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee also approved a bill that would establish a public awareness campaign to educate New Jersey residents on breast milk benefits and warn parents about the risks associated with casually sharing breast milk.
Both measures made it through their respective committees with unanimous support.
"We know that breast milk provides significant health and nutritional benefits to infants. As a result, the demand for breast milk by mothers who are unable to produce it has increased and breast milk sharing has become increasingly common," read a statement by Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, a Democrat, who is the sponsor of both bills.
"It is important that new mothers are aware of the extraordinary benefits of breastfeeding but also of the facts around casual milk sharing," Weinberg said. "By providing information to the public about casual milk sharing and also regulating milk banks, we will hopefully protect against health hazards and encourage a safer process both for mothers obtaining milk and their babies."
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