Aanal Shah has donated more than 100 liters of breast milk to Australian hospitals — enough to fill a large suitcase. But to the families who received it, her gift was something closer to a lifeline. When her daughter Maryam was born at just 31 weeks, Shah found herself pumping eight times a day while Maryam spent her early days in the neonatal intensive care unit, fighting to grow strong. Once her own supply was established, she had extra milk to spare. So she gave it away. "It was a wonderful feeling to be able to help other mothers who might be in the same situation," she said.
That situation — a tiny, premature baby needing nutrition before a mother's supply is ready — plays out thousands of times each year across Australia. About 26,000 babies are born prematurely in the country annually, according to the Australian and New Zealand Neonatal Network. The most dangerous threat they face is a gut disease called necrotizing enterocolitis, or NEC, which causes intestinal inflammation, tissue damage, and can lead to blood infection and organ failure. It is the leading cause of death among these fragile newborns.
But a landmark new study offers real hope. Research published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health found that very premature babies who received donated breast milk from Australian Red Cross Lifeblood were 38% less likely to develop NEC than those who did not. The study examined outcomes at 15 hospitals involving 4,395 infants born at 32 weeks of gestation or less between 2018 and 2020, comparing rates before and after the milk donation service launched.
Australian Red Cross Lifeblood began collecting donated breast milk in 2018. At the time, roughly three-quarters of premature babies had no access to it. Today, the service operates from dedicated facilities in Sydney and Brisbane, supplying more than 4,800 liters of milk to 45 hospitals nationwide — and demand is still climbing.
Lead researcher Dr. Laura Klein said the findings confirm what many doctors had long suspected. "Our research shows that donated breast milk is a simple intervention that can significantly reduce the risk of necrotizing enterocolitis, which causes stress and heartache for many NICU families," she said. The study also found no evidence that donated milk discouraged mothers from breastfeeding their own infants — a concern some had raised. "It is very important that donated breast milk doesn't impact maternal breastfeeding and is offered as part of lactation support, rather than in place of it," Klein explained.
For Aanal Shah, the science matches her lived experience. When her own supply ran low during a 10-day hospital stay complicated by sepsis, Maryam received milk from another donor. "Because she was too small to have formula, it was a relief to have the milk available," Shah said. Now, with her own daughter healthy at home, Shah continues to give back — one frozen container at a time.
As Australian neonatal units see increasing numbers of infants born as early as 24 weeks, researchers say donated breast milk could become an even more critical tool in the fight against NEC.