In addition to thoroughly screening our donors we pasteurise all donor milk before it is fed to babies. 

This heat treatment has been shown to kill any bacteria that may be present in the milk and ensures that no diseases are passed through the milk. 

As a further safety measure all milk is tested both before and after treatment to ensure all bacteria have been killed. 

An unavoidable side effect of heat treating human milk is damage to some of the bioactive components in the milk that are beneficial to preterm infants who have very immature immune systems and are therefore susceptible to infection and illness. 

The pasteurisation system that we have developed meets international standards, however we are able to rapidly heat and cool milk during heat treatment.  This results in minimal damage to the beneficial components in breastmilk while maintaining safety. 

We are also researching (in collaboration with The University of Western Australia) other methods with hope of further reducing damage to milk protein.