Boom in Australia breast milk sales and donations a risk to infants, expert says

While there have been government reviews into sharing of breast milk, the practice remains unregulated. Photograph: bat_sd/Getty Images/iStockphoto

An exponential growth in Australians donating or selling breast milk online is putting infants at risk of disease, a bioethicist says, calling for human milk to be defined as a “tissue” and regulated in the same way as blood.

There are Facebook groups facilitating the donation or sale of breast milk in every state and territory. The “about” section for one group states: “Please post milky requests, offers and milk-sharing questions … It can be helpful to include details such as the age of your baby and your location or how far you are willing to travel.”