Officials Celebrate Opening of Breast Milk Collection Site at AHN Jefferson Hospital with Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

JEFFERSON HILLS, Pa., Oct. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Allegheny Health Network is teaming with the Mid-Atlantic Mother's Milk Bank to open a milk depot at AHN Jefferson Hospital, providing a convenient drop-off location for donor mothers across the region and expanding access to critical donor milk for infants.  

Housed in the Healthy Food Center at AHN Jefferson, the new site is the first milk depot in Allegheny County.

Hospital officials, clinicians, patients, donors, community members and representatives from MAMMB gathered on Thursday afternoon to cut the ribbon and formally open the collection site, welcoming pre-screened donors to drop off their breast milk supply.

The milk depot at AHN Jefferson will accept donations every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Donated milk will be stored in a designated freezer at the hospital's Healthy Food Center and then transported to the MAMMB, where it will be screened, tested, and distributed to hospitals and families in need. All AHN labor and delivery hospitals receive donor milk from MAMMB.

All donated breast milk is carefully processed, in accordance with FDA and state guidelines, at the state-of-the-art lab in the MAMMB headquarters in Bellevue.

The new depot at Jefferson is part of a larger collaboration between AHN and MAMMB — AHN Suburban now serves as a storage hub for donated milk, and at AHN West Penn, lab technicians perform rigorous testing on potential donors as part of the pre-screening process.

Even after a donor mother has been screened and approved, donated milk is tested and pasteurized before it is distributed to hospitals and neonatal intensive care units (NICU) throughout the region, or to newborns at home.  

"We are thrilled to expand our partnership with Mid-Atlantic Mother's Milk Bank through the successful launch of Allegheny County's first milk depot," said Joy Peters, Chief Nursing Officer at AHN Jefferson Hospital. "As neonatal medicine continues to advance and more babies facing medical challenges survive and thrive, the need for bridge milk continues to increase."

Known as "bridge milk" because it helps bridge the gap between birth and a mother's breastfeeding success, donor milk is used at every NICU throughout western Pennsylvania.

Most donated milk is used for critically ill newborns, while approximately 15% to 20% is distributed to outpatient infants who require donor milk because of allergies, illness, or delayed maternal milk production. Outpatient babies typically receive donated breast milk via a prescription from their pediatrician, and then the donor milk is shipped directly to families' doors.

"Over the past decade, local hospitals have increased their use of donor milk to include a larger number of babies, including those who have gastrointestinal issues and cardiac issues. Many hospital systems have even begun using donor milk for some healthy babies when a mother's milk hasn't come in yet," said Denise O'Connor, executive director of the Mid-Atlantic Mother's Milk Bank. "By partnering with Allegheny Health Network and like-minded organizations, we hope to increase donor participation, raise awareness about the ongoing need for donor milk and provide additional access points that help to facilitate the entire donation process."

Jefferson Regional Foundation and Highmark Foundation were both instrumental in making this partnership a success, funding milk analysis at AHN labs and the milk depot at AHN Jefferson.

Research continues to demonstrate the benefits of donated pasteurized human milk for both mothers and infants.

A study published in the Journal of Obstetric & Gynecology Neonatal Nursing showed that late preterm babies (between 35 and 36 weeks gestation) who were given bridge milk had a shorter length of stay at the hospital and were more likely to be exclusively breastfeed by their mothers following discharge, compared to those who were given formula.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends mothers exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first 6 months of life to best support neurodevelopment, strengthen the immune system and reduce the risk of short- and long-term health conditions.

For more information on how to become a milk donor, https://midatlanticmilkbank.org/ and for more information on AHN, visit ahn.org.

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SOURCE Allegheny Health Network