The University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) has confirmed that its newly established human milk bank is now accepting donated breast milk, a key milestone in neonatal care services in Ghana.
The milk bank (officially launched on June 12, 2025, in collaboration with Indiana University School of Public Health, Bloomington) is designed to support infants who cannot access their mother’s milk, especially preterm and low-birthweight babies.
According to the head of UGMC’s paediatric department, Beatrice Nyann, the months following launch were used to put in place safety protocols and build capacity: installing pasteurisers, deep-freezers, air-filtration systems, a digital tracking system for donor milk, a dedicated lab for testing, and consent frameworks.
The facility received its first donor milk in early November. That milk is currently undergoing screening, pasteurisation and bacterial culture testing, the final safety checks before distribution to newborns.
Donor mothers are screened for potential transmissible infections (including HIV, Hepatitis B and C), and all donated milk will be pasteurised and tested for bacterial contamination, in line with global safety standards.
UGMC has opened its doors to mothers with surplus milk who wish to donate. Once safety protocols are satisfied, the first batch of donor milk will be made available to vulnerable infants, a move that holds promise for improving survival and health outcomes of preterm babies in Ghana.
