MONROVIA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Prolacta Bioscience has announced that it has become a sponsor of the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Prolacta is the first and only company to offer human milk fortifier (HMF) made from 100% human breast milk for critically ill, premature infants. The Make-A-Wish Foundation, known for granting wishes of children between the ages of 2 ½ to 18 with life-threatening medical conditions, will receive a minimum annual contribution of $30,000 from Prolacta. The donation will be used by the Make-A-Wish Foundation to grant wishes to children with life-threatening medical conditions.
Through the agreement, Prolacta will contribute one dollar to the Make-A-Wish Foundation for every ounce of qualified breast milk collected through the Milk for Wishes Milk Bank (Milk for Wishes). Milk for Wishes is a virtual milk bank (www.milkforwishes.com) that allows mothers who have excess breast milk to donate in the privacy and comfort of their home. The donated milk is sent to Prolacta, where it is then used to make the only HMF from human milk, as opposed to cow milk, for extremely premature infants (those born weighing two pounds twelve ounces or less).
The announcement, made in November, marks National Prematurity Awareness Month. “We are honored to be working with an organization that strives to do nothing less than make a child with a life-threatening medical condition smile,” said Scott Elster, CEO of Prolacta. “Our focus on fragile, critically ill infants makes for a strong partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which is changing lives for children and their families.”
Neonatologists prescribe Prolacta’s breast milk-based fortifier Prolact+ H2MF® for extremely premature infants. It is concentrated breast milk that is added to the mother’s breast milk or to donor milk (if a mother’s own milk is unavailable), in order to meet the precise protein and caloric needs of the preemie. Prolact+ H2MF can only be administered in a hospital setting and cannot be purchased directly by consumers.
“While Prolacta cares for the needs of critically ill infants, the Make-A-Wish Foundation cares for kids with life-threatening medical conditions, making this relationship a natural fit,” said David A. Williams, president and chief executive officer of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America. “This program has a unique opportunity to help improve the lives of both premature infants and kids who are eligible for a wish in communities across the country.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than a half million babies in the United States (one in eight) are born premature each year.1 Prematurity occurs in infants who are born at less than 37 weeks of gestation, and it is the leading cause of death among newborn babies. Some preemies require special care and spend weeks or months hospitalized in a NICU before they are able to go home to their families.
About the Make-A-Wish Foundation
The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. Based in Phoenix, the Foundation is one of the world’s leading children’s charities, serving children in every community in the United States and its territories. With the help of generous donors and more than 25,000 volunteers, the Make-A-Wish Foundation grants a wish every 39 minutes. It has granted more than 212,000 wishes in the United States since its inception in 1980. Visit the Make-A-Wish Foundation at www.wish.org and discover how you can share the power of a wish®.
About Prolacta
Prolacta Bioscience, Inc. (www.prolacta.com) is a life science company dedicated to improving quality of life by Advancing the Science of Human MilkTM. Prolacta creates specialty formulations made exclusively from human milk for the nutritional needs of critically ill premature infants in Neonatal Intensive Care Units. It is the first and only company to provide a human milk fortifier made from 100% human milk, Prolact+ H2MFTM. They operate a pharmaceutical grade processing plant and have designed and patented processes that enable them to make their one-of-a-kind life saving products. Prolacta is committed to making a meaningful difference in the lives of the most vulnerable infants through world-class research and innovative products.
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2010). Premature Birth. In 2010 CDC Features. Retrieved October 26, 2011, from http://www.cdc.gov/Features/PrematureBirth
CONTACT:
for Prolacta Bioscience, Inc.
Loren Kosmont, 310-721-9444
[email protected]
KEYWORDS: United States North America California
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Women Health Fitness & Nutrition Hospitals Other Health Philanthropy Baby/Maternity Children Other Philanthropy Consumer Foundation Fund Raising
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