[Satellite center of human milk: Analysis of cost reduction]

Introduction: Donor milk is the second best alternative for a newborn after the mother's own milk, especially when the baby is a premature or a sick child since this milk has the advantage of protecting against necrotizing enterocolitis. There are currently 13 milk banks in Spain, however this is not sufficient to supply all Spanish neonatal units with donor milk. In order to bring donor milk to the babies in Neonatal Unit of the Regional University Hospital of Malaga, a Satellite Centre (CS) was created in 2012, depending on the Milk Bank of Virgen de las Nieves Hospital in Granada.

Aim: Assessing the efficiency of a SC compared to an independent milk bank.

Method: A study of cost minimization is used for the analysis. The cost of the implementation of the SC is calculated and compared to the cost of the implementation of the Milk Bank of Virgen de las Nieves of Granada. Additionally, the maintenance cost per year of the 2 models is compared, taking into account the running phase from June, 2012 through August 2015 in the SC.

Results: A SC implies savings of 88,852 Euro in equipment, and 24,572 Euro per year in maintenance compared to an independent milk bank.

Conclusions: The efficiency of the SC is due to a better use of resources. A distribution network model of donor human milk, consisting of milk banks and SC, makes it possible to equally supply human milk to premature infants with a reduced cost.