The Challenge
The service facility headquarters at the Countess of Chester Hospital delivers donated pasteurised breast milk to other hospitals across the nation, and also utilises a countrywide network of motorcycle couriers who deliver the milk free of charge. In order to deliver breast milk as per NICE Guidelines, the Human Milk Bank requires a very specific kind of transport bag, and after receiving a recommendation from one of their couriers, turned to Versapak to fulfill their need.
The Solution
After liaising with the Human Milk Bank regarding their specific requirements, Versapak designed and produced a 5-litre insulated bag in the specified colour complete with tamper evident seal housing, along with the charity’s logo.
“To be compliant with NICE Guidance we decided to have a bespoke transport bag,” says Lynda Coulter of the Milk Bank.
“They’re just the right size to fit onto the back of a motorbike, and five litres is, as a rule, a perfect average. They can be tagged as well, this satisfies the recipient hospital/family that the bag has remained unopened since leaving the Milk Bank-this is now standard practice for all our milk delivery”
“Versapak’s service was exemplary. They were incredibly helpful, and after we placed the order, we had our bags in no time. It’s great to have the design bespoke to us – we really didn’t want to have to use transport bags with ‘blood’ written all over them!”
Ian Anderson of Versapak also commented: “It was wonderful to be able to work with an organisation like the Milk Bank. We’ve worked a lot with the NHS in the past, but this was a little different - we relish the chance to be able to satisfy a need as particular as this.”
What is Happening Now?
The Human Milk Bank currently processes over 1000 litres of breast milk per year, and uses the many different regional fleets of dedicated blood/ milk bike services to deliver milk. They are now talking to Versapak about producing weather proof covers for the bags.
Information about The Cheshire & North Wales Human Milk Bank
The Cheshire & North Wales Human Milk Bank is a charitable organisation devoted to providing human breast milk to babies born sick and prematurely who will benefit from receiving Human Breast Milk as opposed to cows’ milk formula. The charity was established in 2003 with the aim of providing donated milk to improve health and aid the prevention of disease susceptibility in these babies.
To find out more information on the Versapak Human Milk Bag, click here.
