A national breast milk bank to help nurture premature babies whose mothers cannot produce enough of their own could be launched in Scotland.
Health bosses from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde met with representatives from other health boards yesterday to discuss rolling out the service across the country.
Currently there are 17 milk banks across the UK but only one in Scotland, at Glasgow's Yorkhill hospital.
The banks take donations of breast milk from mothers who are producing a surplus or, occasionally, have lost their own babies. It is then made available to neo-natal units around the health board area to support the care of premature infants.
A petition has been lodged with the Scottish Parliament to expand the service across the whole of Scotland.
Judith Simpson, consultant paediatrician at Yorkhill hospital, said: "Premature babies have immature immune systems so they're generally prone to infection. And almost everything we do to support them brings with it the potential for infection, despite our best infection control efforts.
"Breast milk, with all the properties it has, has a big impact on reducing infection."
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