Calidad de la leche donada durante el procesamiento en un banco de leche humanainnovación en los procedimientos

Abstract

Human milk is not only a simple source of nutrients for the newborn but acomplex and unique mixture of substances having biological activities that are essentialfor his/her development. Own´s mother milk provides the nutrients that best fit the needsof the growing infant. When it is unavailable, or in short supply to meet the nutritionalrequirements of the preterm infant, a fact that is common in Neonatal Intensive CareUnits, the best alternative is the use of donor human milk. Donor milk is managedthrough milk banks, so premature babies can enjoy the benefits of human milk.To guarantee that donor milk delivered to preterm infants is safe, potential donorsare screened to ensure they are in good health and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Thisselection includes a blood test and a questionnaire on lifestyle habits. Milk provided bythe donors is subjected to quality controls to ensure that it has been properly obtained andhandled. Subsequently, donor milk is pasteurized. Nowadays, the Holder method (62.5ºC,30 minutes) is the most common milk pasteurization method used in milk banksworldwide because the pasteurized milk has an appropriate balance betweenmicrobiological safety and nutritional quality. However, undesirable changes may occur,including the destruction or reduction of the biological activity of some biologicallyactive milk compounds. Recently, high-temperature short-time (HTST) pasteurization hasbeen proposed as an alternative for a better preservation of the nutritional and biologicalcomponents of donor milk. However, there is no equipment available to perform thistreatment under the actual conditions of a milk bank...