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There are a number of ways you can do it. Donating to a milk bank or something formal requires doctors notes and has a lot of guidelines to follow and I didn't want to go thru all that. So I found my local human milk for human babies group on Facebook and did it on there. It was really easy and there is a lot of demand for it!

Human milk for human babies, or your local eats on feets, would have posts on their fb pages of Moms in need. It's a much easier process, where it just takes "trust" for Mom to Mom direct donation. Some people however, don't feel comfortable meeting up with a stranger, and then you could donate to a local bank. Do not donate to a national bank, often your milk doesn't get to an actually Mama in need.

Yes I have, my little one wasn't able to handle my milk so I donated my freezer stash through our local breastfeeding center.

I also used human milk for human babies via facebook. It's been super easy and some of the moms even replaced bags.

No but I wish I had! I'm definitely looking into it this time around if all goes well.

I donated to two mamas through my midwife. It was great to be able to help someone that desperately wanted to EBF their LO.

Someone donated to me when DS was teeny tiny, and I paid it forward and have donated as well

I donated to the milk bank at my city's children's hospital. I have a friend who had a micro preemie that relied on this milk bank to feed her baby, so I felt called to donate there. Donating to a milk bank is a far more involved process than an informal arrangement. I had to have doctors notes from DD's pediatrician and my OB, fill out quite a bit of paperwork, conduct a phone interview with the milk bank, provide DNA and blood samples, and verify that my freezer was a particular temperature. There are strict requirements as to what medications (including vitamins) you are allowed to take while being a donor and requirements around the manner in which you collect and store your milk.

The benefits of donating through a milk bank are that you don't have any liability should a baby consuming your milk become sick (even if your milk has nothing to do with it). Your milk is blended with lots of other donor milk and pasteurized. Not that someone would sue you should something happen to her child in an informal arrangement, but the possibility is always there. Additionally, you don't have to make the decision of who will receive your milk - it's provided to those deemed by medical professionals to have the greatest medical needed. The flip side of that is that, depending on the bank, those receiving the milk are paying for it (or their insurance is).

I have some to my sister for her twins but in hindsight I should've donated a lot more of it. I had to throw about 100oz out at one point. A coworker just donated to a milk bank and the process was pretty simple and convenient for her.

i donated to a gay couple through my local parenting listserv.

Question: if you're on medications, does it automatically mean that you can't donate? Obviously, I don't know what my supply will be like, but there is a local mom here in need of some donations, and I'd like to help her if I can. But, I'm on meds, and I just don't know how that would go over.

@owlmom: thanks! I know that I can BF my own little one on it, but I wasn't sure if it was the kind of thing that would make another mom uncomfortable. I'll have to talk to her about it.