Delhi : MCD's first milk bank set up at Swami Dayanand Hospital

New Delhi: Delhi's first municipal-run ''milk bank'', proposed to be setup at a hospital, will have a facility to store mother's milk at low temperatures for future use, officials said.

In its budget presented on December 9, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) had proposed the establishment of its first lactation management unit or "milk bank" at the Swami Dayanand Hospital.

However, the municipal commissioner in the budget speech did not elaborate on the planned project.

A senior doctor at SDH said a detailed proposal on the modalities of setting up the "milk bank" will be sent to civic authorities by the hospital.

"It will essentially be a facility where mother's milk can be stored at low temperatures, so that it can be used for babies in the future. It will be akin to a blood bank," the doctor told PTI.

Sharing the purpose of such a bank, he said at times, a child after birth may not be in a position to feed or may be admitted in an ICU. The idea is to store mother's milk so that when a baby needs it, it is available if the mother is either not lactating or lactation level has gone down, the doctor said.

"In such a scenario, milk is collected using breast pumps by a mother, and it is then hygienically handled by a trained staff and carried to the designated milk bank. The AIIMS has such a facility," he said.

He, however, termed the proposal "very ambitious" and expressed reservations over its ultimate execution in the long run, given the fund issues at the MCD.

"Storing mother's milk at low temperatures will require the use of cutting-edge technology and a trained staff to handle it. This has to be kept in mind. Having a plan is one thing, but executing it needs funds and manpower, which the civic body lacks at present," an official source said.

Besides, the job of the MCD is to provide primary healthcare, and this project is a "bit on the ambitious side", the source said.

Asked who else can benefit from such a "milk bank", the doctor said babies who may have lost their mothers at birth or early age.

The MCD on Saturday had presented a budget estimate of Rs 16,683.02 crore for the year 2024-25.

Besides, the "milk bank" project, the civic body in its budget also provisioned funds for construction of around 20 school buildings in different zones of the city and use of artificial intelligence to monitor civic amenities .

The civic body has also proposed to set up various testing labs in 60 primary health centres under a public-private-partnership model. A blood storage facility will be started at the Mata Gujri Hospital, the MCD has said in its budget.