Legal expert: breast milk must come from known, trusted sources

News that human breast milk for sale online for babies can contain dangerous bacteria should not come as a surprise, says Sarah Jane Hughes, a legal expert and member of the Faculty in the University Maurer School of law in Bloomington Indiana.

"Breast milk should be from sources known, or acquired through sources known as hospitals, to reduce the risk of contamination," said Hughes, the University and Fellow Student in commercial law at the school of Maurer.

"Breast milk for donation often is frozen quickly after an expression to be preserved," added Hughes. "If they are not managed correctly, it can deteriorate quickly. Donor breast milk to hospitals should be pre-selected for diseases, such as AIDS or hepatitis".

In a study published online in the journal Pediatrics, the researchers bought and analyzed 101 samples of breast milk sold by women on a popular website, which did not identify. Three-fourths of the samples contained bacteria at levels high enough as to sick babies, the researchers found.

A member of the faculty since long ago at Maurer school, Hughes also has experience as a breast milk donor in the metropolitan area of Washington, D.C.. You can contact her at 812-855-6318 or sjhughes@indiana.edu.

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St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Names New Chief Legal Officer

Newswise — (MEMPHIS, TENN. – October 10, 2013) St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has named Robyn Diaz, J.D., as its chief legal officer and senior vice president. With 10 years of health law experience and 15 years of experience in the health care industry, Diaz joined the hospital’s Office of General Counsel as associate general counsel in August 2010 and was promoted to deputy general counsel in May 2012.

“Robyn’s expertise and experience provide a strong foundation upon which she will continue to excel as a member of our senior management team at St. Jude,” said St. Jude director and CEO Dr. William E. Evans.

Diaz has served as an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University School of Nursing and Health Studies, where she taught classes on law and health care administration, and served as an academic preceptor to undergraduates in Georgetown’s program in healthcare management and policy.

A member of the American Health Lawyers Association, American Bar Association, Tennessee Bar Association and the Memphis Bar Association, Diaz also founded the Memphis Bar Association’s Health Law Section and was nominated to serve as its first chair in 2012. Diaz was previously co-chair of the District of Columbia Bar Health Law Section Steering Committee.

A graduate of Brandeis University, Diaz received her Juris Doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center and earned a certificate in executive leadership for health care professionals from Cornell University. Prior to joining St. Jude, Diaz was associate general counsel at MedStar Health and an attorney in the health care practice group at Crowell & Moring, LLP, both located in Washington, D.C.

Diaz has been published in a variety of health-related publications, including the Health Lawyer, the Journal of Health Care Law and Policy, the American Bar Association Health eSource, the Pittsburgh Journal of Environmental and Health Law, and the American Health Lawyers Association HMOs & Health Plans Newsletter.