Holy Mother’s Breast Milk Bank Initiative Digital transformation of network management
The Challenge
In Vietnam, many mothers who cannot provide their own breastmilk—for example, due to illness, medication, or separation from a hospitalised newborn—want their infants to receive human milk, especially when babies are preterm or sick. In such cases, pasteurised donor human milk (DHM) is the recommended alternative and has been introduced through a small number of human milk banks (HMBs) since 2017. However, access remains limited: when Hùng Vương Hospital, located in Ho Chi Minh City, opened its bank in 2022, it was reported as only the fourth in the country. While major hospitals in Hà Nội and Đà Nẵng now process donor milk for thousands of at-risk infants, many provinces still depend on satellite links to these urban banks. This means that even motivated families who understand the importance of human milk often struggle to find a reliable source of DHM (Journal of Human Lactation, 2019; UNICEF Vietnam, 2022; International Breastfeeding Journal, 2023).
No such banks exist in remote areas of Vietnam, even though that is where the need is strongest. Commercial baby formula is prohibitively expensive for low-income families, and alternatives are limited. Without a reliable supply of milk, vulnerable newborns face serious risks to their health, growth, and survival.
Our Response
Since early 2024, Green Kites International Association (GKIA) has been the sole long-term sponsor of a pioneering local initiative—the Milk Bank Club in Đắk Lắk, a grassroots network led by Mr Hoàng Công Minh that collects surplus breast milk from mothers with abundant supply and distributes it to mothers in need. These decentralised storage points allow donor mothers to contribute milk more easily and recipient families to collect it, expanding access to more mothers and infants.
The contributions of GKIA are crucial to the maintenance and development of this milk network:
Refrigeration cost
To make the program accessible and sustainable, GKIA financed the running cost of five fridge–freezers, placed in private residences across different communities. The milk is safely collected, stored, frozen, and distributed free of charge to premature and sick babies in need. We also supplied milk bags for collecting and freezing milk.
What is remarkable is that the cost of running this life-saving network is surprisingly low apart from the initial set-up. The true strength of the initiative lies not in money but in the unwavering dedication of the mothers, who express solidarity and compassion not only for their own children but also for the most vulnerable infants in their community.
Digital transformation of network management
Before 2025, the donor network was coordinated manually, with handwritten logs and phone calls that often delayed the matching of donors with families.
To address these bottlenecks, Daniel Cox, CEO of Green Kites, and co-founder, Sean Pham, designed and deployed a mobile application combined with barcode scanning to manage milk collection, storage, and distribution safely and transparently:
- Donor profiles: Each donor installs the app on their phone. When they drop off or pick up milk, they log the quantity in the app.
- Bag-level traceability: Each milk bag carries a barcode. When it is placed in the refrigerator, the code is scanned to record the donor, intake date, and expiry. When it is removed, it is scanned again to log the transfer.
- Safety assurance: Bag-level tracking means that, in the rare event of a safety concern (e.g., an infant developing stomach pain), the specific implicated bag can be identified and discarded without wasting the rest of the stock.
- Recipient access: For mothers receiving milk, the app shows real-time milk availability by location and recommends the nearest pickup point. If the nearest site is out of stock, it suggests the next best location based on distance, opening hours, and stock levels, and can send notifications when stock is replenished.
- All barcode scans are done by smartphones, requiring no specialised equipment.
Impact of the App:
The app has cut coordination time by more than half, reduced administrative errors, and improved safety and transparency in milk handling. Families can now plan their pickups with confidence, and coordinators can focus on outreach and support rather than on paperwork and phone calls.
Bamboo Basket Cooling Carrier
The Problem:
Many families in remote areas who receive donated breast milk have no home refrigeration. They must make long, often exhausting trips—sometimes up to two hours—to collection points. Even when portable fridges are donated, occasional power outages (1–3 hours) mean the milk can warm quickly, risking spoilage and reducing its safe shelf-life. This creates a heavy burden for mothers who need to focus on their newborns.
The Innovation:
In 2025, Daniel Cox and William Pham proposed a low-cost, culturally appropriate Bamboo Basket Cooling Carrier, combining local craftsmanship with STEM-driven design:
- Traditional frame: Locally woven bamboo for affordability, durability, and community involvement.
- Insulated liner: Multi-layered with natural rice-husk fibre, reflective foil, and moisture-resistant lining to improve cold retention and hygiene.
- Phase-change cooling pack: A reusable frozen insert keeps milk safely at 2–8 °C for hours during transport or brief power outages.
- Lightweight & portable: Ergonomic handles and compact size make it practical for mothers travelling by motorbike or on foot.
Impact of the Bamboo Basket:
Field trials show that the carrier can keep milk safely chilled for up to 6–8 hours without electricity, bridging the critical gap between collection and home use. This innovation reduces spoilage, extends the reach of the milk bank to households without refrigerators, and lessens the travel burden for mothers in remote areas. It also empowers local communities by engaging bamboo-weaving cooperatives in the production process.
Our Impact
This community-driven model bridges a critical gap by ensuring that life-saving nutrition reaches infants who otherwise would not have access.
With Green Kites’ ongoing financial and technical support ensuring stability, and with the mothers’ commitment, the network thrives. The program now provides a regular source of milk for around 40 mothers and infants each month, easing the financial burden on families and ensuring that newborns receive vital nourishment.
The introduction of the mobile app has increased efficiency, transparency, and safety, while the Bamboo Basket Cooling Carrier has extended the program’s reach to the most remote families and made milk distribution more resilient to power outages.
Beyond immediate survival, the initiative strengthens community solidarity, promotes responsible use of technology for social good, and raises awareness about neonatal health in underserved regions of Vietnam.
References
Journal of Human Lactation (2019) ‘Establishing Vietnam’s first human milk bank’, Journal of Human Lactation, 35(2), pp. 359–364.
UNICEF Vietnam (2022) Right to breastfeeding in spite of busy life. 12 August. Available at: https://www.unicef.org/vietnam/press-releases/right-breastfeeding-spite-busy-life (Accessed: 5 September 2025).
International Breastfeeding Journal (2023) ‘Donor human milk use in Vietnam: coverage and challenges’, International Breastfeeding Journal, 18(1), p. 45.
Vietnam Ministry of Health (2021) Technical guideline on establishing and operating human milk banks (Decision 2394/QĐ-BYT). Hanoi: Ministry of Health.
