1940s
Informal sharing of milk in Australian maternity wards has been documented since at least the 1940s.
1970s
Australia’s first organised milk bank began operating at the Townsville General Hospital.
2006
Fast forward to 2006 and The Perron Rotary Express Milk (PREM) Milk Bank in Perth was established at the King Edward Memorial Hospital (KEMH). The facility began providing donated breast milk to babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) at KEMH and Perth Children’s Hospital.
In the same year, Mothers Milk Bank Charity was established and opened. It’s Australia’s only community milk bank.
In the following year (2007), the Royal Prince Alfred (RPA) Hospital in Sydney established a milk banking service for the supply of donated breast milk within their hospital.
2011
Mercy Health Breastmilk Bank, founded by Dr Gillian Opie, opened at the Mercy Hospital for Women in Heidelberg, Melbourne. The hospital collected, processed and provided donated breast milk to vulnerable and premature babies in NICUs and Special Care Nursery (SCN).
2012
The Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) Queensland Milk Bank, founded by Dr Pieter Koorts, opened and supplied donated breast milk to vulnerable and premature babies at the Royal Women’s Hospital in Brisbane.
2013
Queensland Milk Bank expanded its operation and began supplying donated breast milk to other hospitals in Queensland, providing more care for more babies.
2017
Mercy Health Breastmilk Bank was approved to establish satellite sites – locations separate from the primary hospital which enabled increased donations and the use of donated breast milk for vulnerable babies in Melbourne’s NICUs.
2018
In September 2018, Australian Red Cross Lifeblood worked together with New South Wales (NSW) Health and South Australia (SA) Health to launch a program of collection and supply of donated breast milk. The program operated out of a purpose-built milk processing facility within the Lifeblood Sydney Processing Centre and the first milk deliveries were to the Women’s and Children’s Hospital and Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide.
In November 2018, Lifeblood began to supply donated breast milk to NSW’s NICUs, with multiple hospitals receiving their first milk deliveries.
2019
Lifeblood began supplying donated breast milk to Townsville Hospital’s NICU and more NSW NICUs.
Mercy Health Breastmilk Bank also opened more satellite sites at the Monash Children's Hospital and The Royal Children's Hospital.
2020
Another satellite site at the Royal Women's Hospital was opened by Mercy Health Breastmilk Bank.
2021
Queensland Milk Bank merged with Lifeblood and opened a new processing facility within the Brisbane Processing Centre at Kelvin Grove. This meant Lifeblood could begin supplying donated breast milk to NICUs and SCNs across Queensland, as well as to the Royal Hobart Hospital.
2022
With the help of breastfeeding mums, Lifeblood expanded its reach and began supplying donated breast milk to the Canberra Hospital in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
In the following year (2023), Lifeblood began supplying donated breast milk into the Fiona Stanley Hospital in Western Australia (WA).
2024
Lifeblood continued to expand into a national service providing donated breast milk to additional hospitals in WA and Tasmania.
The future
More access. More support. More little lives changed.
Lifeblood is passionate about ensuring that every premature or vulnerable baby who can benefit from donated breast milk has access to this vital product – whether it be from Lifeblood or other milk bank operations in Australia. We will continue to partner with other healthcare organisations, research institutions, and state and federal governments to ensure that we can keep helping Australia’s smallest and most vulnerable patients during a critical time.
