Open Call

We invite experts to join the Expert Forum for the EU4Health Programme Project IMAGINE-HMB (“Implementation of Human Milk hArmonized Guidelines for Infant Nutrition in Europe”), coordinated by the European Milk Bank Association (EMBA).

The EU-funded IMAGINE-HMB Project aims to establish a comprehensive set of guidelines for the use of donor human milk (DHM), ensuring the highest standards of safety and quality across Europe. IMAGINE-HMB is being coordinated by EMBA, in collaboration with the Consortium partners, the Polish Human Milk Bank Foundation (HMBF), the German Human Milk Bank Initiative (FMBI), the Spanish Association of Human Milk Banks (AEBLH), and the Irish Neonatal Health Alliance (INHA).

The Project’s Consortium will build an “EU Forum of Experts specialised in human milk/milk banking” and guide them into the process of drafting EU harmonized evidence-based guidelines for the use in human milk banks (human milk entities/establishments). These guidelines will focus on (i) the technical standards to ensure the safety and quality; (ii) the oversight requirements to guarantee the human milk entities/establishments be compliant with these harmonized European guidelines and the new SoHO Regulation.

The process will include an extensive scientific literature analysis, on the topics relevant for human milk banking, including existing national and international guidelines, surveys directed to human milk entities/establishments, and a solid methodology for identifying and grading the evidence gathered, reaching a wide range consensus amongst experts on the final recommendations. 

Areas of Expertise

We are seeking human milk banking experts in the following areas:

• Experts/professionals in human milk banking (i.e. human milk bank managers, doctors, nurses, dieticians)

• Neonatologists with an expertise in human milk science/milk banking and neonatal nutrition

• Experts in human milk/lactation science

• Experts in human milk biochemistry

• Experts in microbiology/hygiene

• Experts in blood/tissue banking

• Experts in food technology

• Experts in quality and safety management

Topics to be Addressed

The Expert Forum will cover all critical topics related to donor human milk, including but not limited to:

• Donor recruitment and screening

• Expression, handling, storage, and transport of DHM

• Pooling and screening of DHM (pre- and post-pasteurization)

• Heat treatment, and other processing techniques

• Traceability and risk assessment

• Distribution and transport of DHM to recipients

• Ethics of donation