Volunteers sign up for country's first breast-milk bank

The country's first breast-milk bank, established in Guangzhou early this month, has had more than 60 volunteer mothers register, Yangcheng Evening News reported.

The bank has received more phone inquiries from Beijing, Shenzhen, Wuhan and other major mainland cities for donated breast milk, said Liu Xihong, a senior doctor from Guangzhou Hospital for Women and Children, where the milk bank is located.

"In addition to helping the babies who need and want to be breast-fed, the bank is expecting to play a role in promoting breast-feeding in the country where a growing number of young mothers are choosing not to breast-feed their babies to prevent their figures from getting out of shape," Liu told the newspaper.

On the morning of April 14 alone, six mothers who visited the bank donated a total of about 700 milliliters, which is enough milk for a baby for a day.

Mothers can get a free health checkup if they arrive in the hospital to donate breast milk.

Liu said the hospital usually has more than 300 infant baby inpatients alone every day, and breast milk is the best source of nutrition for the infant patients, Liu said.

A 10-month-old boy who was once in critical condition with serious intestinal fistula is now in good condition, thanks to the hospital's breast-milk bank.

With the help of the bank, the boy gained 0.6 kilogram in a week, Liu added.