Mothers' Milk Bank of Tennessee

What Mothers' Milk Bank of Tennessee does

Mothers' Milk Bank of Tennessee, now operating as Mothers' Milk Bank Southeast, is a nonprofit human milk bank founded in 2014 and headquartered in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The organization collects, screens, pasteurizes, and distributes donated breast milk primarily to neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) and outpatient families across the Southeast United States. It is the only organization of its kind in the region and is affiliated with Human Milk Banking of North America (HMBANA), the governing accreditation body that sets safety and processing standards for the sector.

The operating model rests on three integrated flows: donor acquisition (mothers with excess breast milk, including after-loss donations, channeled through Milk Drop Depots), laboratory pasteurization, and distribution to hospital and outpatient customers. The organization claims that feeding premature and low birth weight infants only human milk can reduce mortality by up to 75%, positioning pasteurized donor human milk as a clinically critical input. Product lines include the Donate Milk program, Hospital Milk Requests, Outpatient Requests, the Donor Milk to Go take-home program, and The Rosie Fund, a financial-assistance program that subsidizes donor milk for families in need.

Commercially, the organization generates revenue from milk distribution to hospitals and families, with pricing not publicly disclosed. It supplements this with community fundraising (5k runs) and grant/donation activity. The organization operates with approximately 10 employees and serves "hundreds of mothers annually" as donors. Customer segments split between enterprise hospital procurement and individual outpatient families, with the Southeast regional footprint functioning as a quasi-monopoly within the HMBANA-affiliated supply network.

Name

Mothers' Milk Bank of Tennessee

Legal name

Mothers' Milk Bank Southeast

Website

https://milkbanktn.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Mothers' Milk Bank of Tennessee (now Mothers' Milk Bank Southeast) is a nonprofit, HMBANA-affiliated human milk bank that collects, pasteurizes, and distributes donor breast milk to hospital NICUs and outpatient families across the Southeast United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Human Milk Banking Services

NAICS

Blood and Organ Banks (621991)

SIC

Dairy Products (2020)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAFAJAN

Lactation, Postpartum & Perinatal Support Services

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Healthcare Providers & Systems/Women’s & Children’s Health Providers

Keywords

• Human milk banking
• Donor milk services
• Pasteurized donor milk
• Neonatal nutrition
• Milk bank nonprofit

Headquarters

HQ city

Murfreesboro

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donor Milk Distribution: Provides pasteurized donor human milk to hospitals and outpatient families. The Rosie Fund assists families with financial need. Revenue generated from milk distribution to healthcare facilities and families.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Mothers' Milk Bank of Tennessee (now Mothers' Milk Bank Southeast) operates as a nonprofit human milk bank that screens milk donors, collects donated breast milk, pasteurizes it for safety, and distributes pasteurized donor human milk to hospital neonatal intensive care units and outpatient families across the Southeast United States. It also runs a take-home donor milk program, physical milk drop depots, and The Rosie Fund financial assistance program for families in need.

Product overview

Mothers' Milk Bank of Tennessee (now Mothers' Milk Bank Southeast) operates as a nonprofit milk bank providing safe, pasteurized donor human milk. The organization offers a unified service portfolio centered on human milk banking: milk donation programs (including donation after loss), hospital and outpatient distribution channels, take-home donor milk options, and physical milk drop depots for collection. Financial assistance is available through The Rosie Fund. The service is part of the Human Milk Banking of North America (HMBANA) network and serves hospitals and families throughout the Southeast United States.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Donate Milk

Quantifiable outcome

• Research shows that feeding premature and low birth weight babies only human milk can reduce mortality by up to 75%

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Human Milk Banking of North America (HMBANA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMothers' Milk Bank Southeast is affiliated with HMBANA, the governing body for human milk banks in North America. HMBANA establishes standards and guidelines for safe milk banking practices. The organization displays the HMBANA logo indicating official accreditation and adherence to industry standards.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• San Jose Mothers' Milk Bank: HMBANA-accredited nonprofit milk bank serving the West Coast with hospital orders, outpatient distribution, and milk drop depots. Highly comparable regional milk bank peer.
• WakeMed Mothers' Milk Bank: HMBANA-accredited hospital-affiliated milk bank. Operates the same nonprofit donor milk banking model, serving NICUs and outpatient families with pasteurized donor human milk.
• Mothers' Milk Bank of Iowa: HMBANA-accredited nonprofit milk bank providing pasteurized donor human milk to hospitals and families. Operates an analogous regional nonprofit model with similar donor screening, processing, and distribution activities.
• Oklahoma Mothers' Milk Bank: HMBANA-accredited nonprofit milk bank providing pasteurized donor human milk to hospitals and families in Oklahoma and surrounding states. Comparable regional nonprofit milk bank peer.
• Pittsburgh Human Milk Bank: HMBANA-affiliated milk bank providing pasteurized donor human milk to NICUs and outpatient families. Operates with the same nonprofit donor milk banking mission and HMBANA-aligned standards.
• Mothers' Milk Bank Northeast: HMBANA-accredited nonprofit milk bank serving the Northeast U.S. with hospital distribution, outpatient programs, and depot collection. Closest large-scale HMBANA peer in mission, structure, and product offering to Mothers' Milk Bank Southeast.
• Mid-Atlantic Mothers' Milk Bank: HMBANA-accredited nonprofit milk bank serving the Mid-Atlantic region. Operates the same pasteurization, donor screening, and hospital/outpatient distribution model.
• Mothers' Milk Bank of North Texas: HMBANA-accredited nonprofit milk bank serving hospitals and outpatient families. Operates the same donor-screening, pasteurization, and distribution model as Mothers' Milk Bank Southeast and is a directly comparable peer within the HMBANA network.
• Prolacta Bioscience: For-profit human milk processor that collects, pasteurizes, and manufactures standardized donor human milk and human milk fortifiers for NICUs. Directly competes with HMBANA-accredited nonprofit milk banks like Mothers' Milk Bank Southeast for hospital accounts, with a differentiated for-profit and product-focused business model.

Others

• Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA): Governing and accrediting body for nonprofit human milk banks in North America. Not a competitor, but a direct enabler of Mothers' Milk Bank Southeast's operations, standards, and market access through its accreditation framework.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/mothers-milk-bank-of-tennessee

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mothers' Milk Bank of Tennessee