Pasteurization is a very gentle, controlled heating process using special equipment that kills viruses and bacteria while still maintaining 95% of nutrient content that was originally present in the milk.
While a few of the immune properties might be lost, there are many more that survive the pasteurization process. In addition, some beneficial enzymes are actually activated by the pasteurization process. World Health Organization(WHO), Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP), American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) technical guidelines recommend that only screened pasteurized human donor milk be given to premature and critically ill babies, if mother’s own milk is unavailable.
All of us know that nature has designed mother’s milk to best suit the needs of her baby. But there are circumstances where, mother’s own milk isn’t available and therefore donor milk is the best option for these fragile premature and sick babies.