When breastfeeding mothers donate milk to the local NICU, the donating mother often has a home visit from the specialist infant feeding neonatal nurse who advises on sterilisation and handling of milk. The mother has blood tests for diseases which can be passed on through breastmilk, every batch of donated milk is tested for harmful bacteria.
To buy milk from strangers online sounds like a far too risky affair! That is before even considering the highly dubious ethics.
No, selling mother’s milk should not be permitted in the UK. We don’t allow the exploitation of the poor by selling their blood nor should we allow it with milk. If it is used as a means out of poverty then it will surely happen in circumstances where it could be damaging to the mother or baby. A mother’s milk is perfectly formulated for her own baby, the age, the time of day, the health status. The supply and demand is actually quite carefully balanced and so encouraging mothers to donate can in some cases actually cause problems (oversupply and all that goes with it) for the dyad which will only resolve when expressing or pumping is phased out.
Instead we should be giving adequate breastfeeding support to all mothers who want their babies to receive their milk and putting an end to all practices which separate mother and baby or otherwise interfere with the breastfeeding relationship.