Human Milk Banks and the Rules for Milk Siblings (Raḍā’)

Abstract

Human milk is an excellent diet for newborns because it supplies important nourishment while protecting them from sickness. A milk tie, or milk kinship, is formed when milk from a woman other than the child's mother is consumed. It is more important among the Muslim population due to religious beliefs and the concept of Marriage Prohibition. Children who get the milk of the same mom are therefore tied by milk as milk siblings, with the same barriers to marriage as if they were linked by birth. Since milk bank practice in Western nations contradicts Islamic doctrine of milk kinship, there is a possibility of overlapping progeny. As a result, current Muslim scholars debate the propriety of unlabeled donation and acceptance of human milk through milk banks. On the other hand, there is a significant need for mothers' milk in hospitals for neonates, particularly premature babies; the following study suggests a way to prepare a proper model of "milk banks" that is in accordance with Islamic law (Shariah) and, at the same time, to avoid more progeny problems.