One woman has sparked fury after re-selling donated breastmilk. For women struggling to produce enough milk to feed their children, the online community of willing donors is an invaluable resource. Not only do moms get to continue to give breastmilk to their babies, but women who produce too much get to help others in need. It's a brilliant thing that brings moms together...usually. However, one group of mothers allege they were scammed by a woman who pretended to need donations. Instead, she sold the supplies on and pocketed the money for herself.
The woman was a member of a Facebook group specifically created to help moms find breastmilk donations from their generous peers. Members soon cottoned on to what was happening, realizing that the woman who had begged for donations was actually swindling them out of money. Now, dozens of people have come forward to say that they have either donated or bought from the individual in question - and they are not happy.
Jodi Neidert donated her milk to the scam artist in good faith. She told CBC that she felt betrayed by the whole incident. Sadly for the Vancouver, Canada group, there's nothing that they can do from a legal standpoint. While it's immoral and underhanded, it's not an illegal act. According to the Canada Royal Mounted Police, if you donate something, it's not up to you what the person does with it. They can sell it, send to the moon or turn it into solid gold. It has zilch to do with you.
At this moment in time, the group has chosen not to name and shame the person in question. Neidert believes that the assailant may have made upwards of $650 from the sale of the donated breastmilk, but these are just the sales that they know about.
Understandably, Neidert felt like the donors and the purchasers were owed an explanation, so messaged the mother to ask what was going on. Rather than deny it, the mom explained that she had initially donated her own milk through a charity. After this, she continued to sell her milk and still felt like she needed to provide for the baby she was selling to.
While this could be a plausible explanation, it doesn't clear up why the mystery female didn't send on the milk she acquired free of charge to the wanting child, or why she didn't help the other mother find a secondary source. Although the woman apologized for her actions multiple times, the mothers effected by the scam aren't quick to forgive.
"As a mom, I wanted to help out another mom," said Bemister, who donated 100 ounces of milk. "I would never charge a mom."