Got extra milk? Here's a place where it could mean "the difference between life and death."

I was going to write about something else today, but I just heard about this:  ABC World News had a story last night about a group of mothers in Missouri who have collected breastmilk to send to AIDS orphans in South Africa.  The story, including the video clip which features some very cute babies, is here.

A project founded by a professor of pediatrics in South Africa collects breastmilk from healthy mothers to provide to immune-compromised infants who have been orphaned by AIDS.  Donors are screened and the milk is pasteurized.  The breastmilk has a profound effect on these children, who sometimes arrive so sick and malnourished that they can barely cry.  Within a few weeks they are "full of life."

In Columbia, Mo., Jill Youse read about the IThemba Lethu orphanage on the Internet while she was breast-feeding her 10-month-old daughter, Estella.

"For children who are sick, especially if they have HIV or other diseases, breast milk could be the difference between life and death," Youse said.

She decided to get involved and found other breast-feeding mothers in her town who were also interested in helping the South African babies. Youse soon collected 24 gallons of frozen breast milk.

To transport the milk to South Africa, Youse contacted express carrier DHL, which agreed to ship the donation to South Africa free of charge.

Wow.  Let's hear it for those Missouri moms! 

For more information about the project, see the website for the International Breastmilk Project.  The Project's website says that they're planning another shipment for early 2007.  I'll definitely spread the word at the breastfeeding clinic, where I often see mothers who have lots of pumped milk to spare.