Why Is Human Milk Donation Absent From the Literature on Philanthropic Giving? The Invisible Female Donor and Her Invisible Gift

Abstract

In this research note, we call attention to human milk donation being essentially omitted from the philanthropy literature and bodily gifting research. We focus here on human milk donations for infant feeding through nonprofit milk banks. We argue that its omission is due to two main factors: (a) the incoherence of defining human milk donation and the challenges to its regulation and (b) its consideration as care work and the characteristics of the milk donor identity. We end with avenues for future research in this area.

Kinship Idioms and Care-Control Dynamics in Hungarian Co-ethnic Philanthropy

“…Such metaphors may be central, inter alia, in defining the recipients of philanthropic support, as for example the frequent case of support for families in material and economic disadvantage; or in defining the needs that must be helped and the helping activities, such as in case of offering professional parenting support through NGOs (de Koning et al, 2020). Family metaphors and idioms of kinship, furthermore, may also induce helping motivations based on donor's familial roles and identities, conceived as similar to potential recipients'such empathetic identification, based on shared motherhood has been explored in milk donation philanthropy , Oreg & Appe, 2021. Within this broad and diverse array, our present study focuses on a specific subset of phenomena, that is on philanthropy that addresses previously unrelated donors and recipients as members of the same family, thus creating direct familial connections between them.…”

Peer-to-Peer Human Milk-Sharing Among Israeli Milk Donors: A Mixed-Methods Study in the Land of Milk and Honey

“…Human milk-sharing is part of a larger phenomenon of donating bodily organs and fluids. In Israel, similar to other countries around the world (e.g., U.S., U.K., France), there are no restrictions on the sale and purchase of human milk ( Oreg & Appe, 2022 ). Human milk is nevertheless not typically sold in Israel.…”

“…There are significant inconsistencies in how human milk has been defined and how its sharing has been regulated in milk banks ( Klotz et al, 2022 ). Current applied classifications for human milk around the world include human milk as a food, as a tissue, and as a therapeutic good/medicine ( Oreg & Appe, 2022 ). Informal sharing (e.g., online sharing) is not regulated ( Cohen, 2018 ).…”