Sara Wiens, a Winnipeg mom, has gallons of breastmilk saved in her freezer that her son cannot drink. So she is turning to the internet to help find a buyer for her surplus.
Wiens has been pumping and storing breastmilk in her freezer since the birth of her son four months ago. Now she has a huge collection of milk, none of which her son can drink. Wiens discovered that her infant has an allergy to the protein in cow’s milk, a protein that can be passed on through her breastmilk when she eats of drinks milk products. All of the milk in her freezer comes from a time when she was still consuming milk products.
Frozen breastmilk lasts much longer than storing milk in a refrigerator, yet it still has an expiration date. The oldest bags of milk will need to be disposed of by spring, making finding a buyer quickly very important.
She has no set price for the milk, though she does hope to get enough money to cover the cost of the rental pump she was using and other expenses. She estimates the price between $200 and $500, with enough milk stored to feed an infant for at least three months. “Compared to formula, it’s a lot cheaper and a lot better,” Wiens said.
There are milk banks available in Canada, however, there is no one close enough to Wiens to be able to donate. It was suggested that she donate milk to Haiti, however, the cost of shipping and customs would be thousands of dollars. It is also not certain that her breastmilk would be used in Haiti as US officials have asked milk donations to stop.
Wiens placed her breastmilk sale on Kijiji — a classifieds website and has already received five offers. She is confident that she will be able to find a buyer for her milk soon. Summer, staff writer
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