If you have opted to pump breast milk for your surrogate baby, you may come across a time where you have to ship your breast milk. Here are some tips to successfully and safely ship breast milk.
Store your breast milk in quality storage bags. Make sure they are tightly sealed and press as much air possible out of them when sealing.
There are various ways of shipping milk. What is most important, is that the milk is packaged well. First, make sure you have a proper carrier. If you choose to use a Styrofoam cooler, make sure it is at least 2” thick and then place it in a cardboard box, lined with newspaper. With our experience, an insulated cooler is the best but can raise shipping fees because of its weight.
You can use dry ice to ship the milk, but milk will stay frozen without dry ice, as long as it is packaged correctly. Deep-freezing breast milk will make it stay frozen longer. Layer the bottom of your carrier with dry ice and remember to use gloves to avoid being burned. Then place several layers of newspaper on top of the dry ice.
Pack your breast milk in plastic zip lock bags. In case there is a leak, the plastic zip-locked bags will keep the milk contained. To prevent the dry ice from coming in contact with the breast milk bags, wrap the bags in newspaper.
Place a few more layers of newspaper on top of your bagged breast milk and add more dry ice. Poke some holes in the Styrofoam cooler. Dry ice needs to vent or the cooler may break open.
If there is any more room in the box, add more newspaper to keep items from shifting. Close the box and securely tape it closed. Check with your carrier. Labels such as Human Milk, Fragile and/or Perishable may be added to your shipping slip.
Please notify the recipient that there is dry ice in the box to prevent injury.
If you have further questions about this process, contact Shared Conception anytime!
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