New Mothers' Milk Bank opens in Elk Grove Village

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. (WLS) -- Donated milk from the Mothers' Milk Bank of the Western Great Lakes helps save lives.

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A new facility opened in Elk Grove Village on Friday.

Susan Urbanski, program manager of Mothers' Milk Bank, explained that the facility collects human donor milk.

"We accept donations from moms who have a surplus," Urbanski said. "We test it, we pasteurize it, we bottle it, and we get it back out."

Most donor milk goes to hospitals for babies that are in the NICU. However, they also have an outpatient program.

Rachel Caputo gave birth at 24 weeks to baby London. She was able to provide breast milk for the first seven months of her daughter's life. When she could no longer supply milk, she turned to the milk bank.

"London had to remain on donor milk for the first two years then of her life. It's what she needed so that her gut could heal and so she could continue to grow," Caputo said.

London is now 9 years old and thriving in the third grade.

To learn more about Mothers' Milk Bank of Western Great Lakes, click here.