Home / Health / Rims Launches Jharkhand's First Govt. Milk Bank
Rims Launches Jharkhand's First Govt. Milk Bank
1 Aug
Summary
- Rims will establish the first government hospital human milk bank in Jharkhand.
- Rotary Club of Ranchi proposed a Rs 46.57 lakh corporate social responsibility project.
- The bank will supply screened, pasteurized donor milk to vulnerable newborns.
Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (Rims) in Ranchi is set to establish Jharkhand's inaugural human milk bank within a government hospital. This significant development aims to improve access to pasteurized donor breast milk for newborns who are premature, of low birth weight, or critically ill.
The project has progressed following a corporate social responsibility proposal of Rs 46.57 lakh submitted by the Rotary Club of Ranchi for a Comprehensive Lactation Management Centre (CLMC). Rims administration has accepted this proposal and initiated the necessary administrative procedures.
Director Dipendra Kumar Sinha confirmed the project is in its preliminary stages, with the milk bank to be integrated into the neonatology wing of the paediatrics department. The facility is designed to assist infants in the neonatal intensive care unit whose mothers might be critically ill, experiencing delayed lactation, or temporarily unable to breastfeed.
Healthy lactating mothers can donate excess breast milk, which will undergo rigorous screening, pasteurization, and safe storage. The milk will be dispensed to newborns strictly on medical prescription, adhering to Union health ministry guidelines. The centre will be equipped with an automated milk pasteuriser, hospital-grade breast pumps, deep freezers, and advanced tracking systems.
While a private hospital in Ranchi already operates a human milk bank, the Rims facility will be the first within the government healthcare system. It is expected to benefit infants referred from district hospitals across the state, contributing to improved newborn care indicators in Jharkhand.
