ArticleInternational breastfeeding journal2022
How much does a liter of donor human milk cost? Cost analysis of operating a human milk bank in Italy.
Article in International breastfeeding journal, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- Before and after Group Standards: a longitudinal study on operational quality, cost-effectiveness, and health equity promotion in Southwest China's first human milk bank.International breastfeeding journal · 2026Article
- Analysis of the economic benefits and feasibility of the same-city delivery model for donor human milk (SCDM-DHM).International breastfeeding journal · 2025Article
- Cost of operating a human milk bank in the UK: a microcosting analysis.Archives of disease in childhood. Fetal and neonatal edition · 2025Article
- Cost analysis of establishing and operating the first human milk bank at Da Nang Hospital for Women and Children in Vietnam: an activity-based costing ingredients study.International breastfeeding journal · 2024Article
- The economic value of human milk from three cohort studies in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy.International breastfeeding journal · 2024Article
- Acceptability of breast milk donor banking: A qualitative study among health workers in Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Ghana.PLOS global public health · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTo date, 40 Human Milk Banks (HMB) have been established in Italy; however, recent cost analysis data for operating an HMB in Italy are not available in the literature.
methodsThis study was a cross-sectional study performed at "Bambino Gesù" Children's Hospital in Rome, Italy in 2019. We assessed the one-year operational costs and, the per liter unit costs at our HMB.
resultsDuring the 2019 year we collected 771 l of human milk supplied by 128 donors. The total cost was € 178,287.00 and the average cost was € 231.00 per liter. € 188,716.00 would have been spent had the maximum capacity for 904 l been reached. We found a significant difference (€ 231.00 vs € 209.00 per liter, p = 0.016) comparing the cost for collected liters in the year 2019 and the cost for the maximum capacity of the bank for that year of activity. Analyzing each cost item that determines the charge of donor human milk (DHM), the highest costs are the salaries of medical and paramedical staff, and then the costs related to transporting. If the HMB works at maximum capacity and manages a greater number of liters of milk, this can represent an important saving. Conversely, the price of consumables is modest (i.e., the price of a single-use kit for breast pumps was € 0.22 per unit).
conclusionThe costs for a liter of DHM are quite high, but they must be related to the benefits, especially for preterm infants. Comparing the cost for collected liters in 2019 and the costs for the 2019 maximum capacity of the HMB, we calculated how much fixed costs of collection and distribution of DHM can be reduced, by increasing the volume of milk collected. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first complete cost analysis for an Italian Milk Bank. A thorough analysis could help to abate fixed costs and reduce the cost of a liter of DHM. The centralization of DHM can allow savings, rather than creating small HMBs scattered throughout the territory that would operate with lower milk volumes.
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