The financial aspects of shipping a box of human milk are best arranged before the supplies are bought and the box is shipped. This can be done via online secure payment processors, pre-paid shipping labels, and/or by calling the courier and paying over the phone. Sending (large sums) of money to strangers is inadvisable.
Overnight shipping and long distances are best done with dry ice and gel packs since regular ice melts quickly.1 The amount of dry ice per parcel is generally unlimited for ground shipments.
The courier used to ship the package will need to know that the content is a low-risk biological product and that the package contains dry ice. Shipping milk generally does not require documentation or a permit, but each shipping company and country will have slightly different requirements, all based on law, especially when shipping internationally, so call and ensure all paperwork is filled out before going to the shipping center or the courier arrives.
For shipping across country lines, please inquire about the customs information of your country.
Air shipping
Dry ice is a hazardous material and as such, it is regulated for shipment by the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Regulations require that specific procedures must be followed when shipping dry ice.2
Warning Label
For air transport, the amount of dry ice per parcel is limited to 5.5 pounds or less. Shipments containing dry ice must carry a Class 9 DOT miscellaneous hazardous material warning label, and must be clearly marked “Carbon Dioxide Solid, UN1845” or “Dry Ice, UN1845.” Biological material is often a dry ice shipment, which may have additional special requirements provided by the cold chain industry.3
Caution
Eats on Feets supports the shipping of donor milk if it is necessary. However, please be cautious of shipping scams, where people offer to ship milk to you for an upfront cash payment, as these are often scams. Do not send anyone any money. Use prepaid labels or shipping accounts.
Our goal is to mobilize local families in order to foster true and safe community-based and private arrangement milksharing, where people can meet each other in person and properly screen each other.
Next section: What kind of container is breastmilk stored in for shipping?
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- For shipping with dry ice in the US, please visit dryiceInfo and ShipStation ↩︎
- FedEx – Shipping Dry Ice
↩︎ - DryIceInfo – Shipping ↩︎
