What is the ruling on a mothers' milk bank?
Milk banks are a Western concept that carries religious and health concerns. They lead to the mingling of lineages due to the unknown identity of the wet nurse, which could result in incestuous marriages. Furthermore, the milk is exposed to microbes and preservatives. The existence of these banks might also encourage some mothers not to breastfeed their children, thereby depriving infants of the benefits of natural breastfeeding. The Council of the Islamic Fiqh Academy has decided to prohibit the establishment of human milk banks in the Islamic world and deems breastfeeding from them unlawful, considering that Islam regards suckling as a kinship tie, and Islamic societies provide natural wet-nursing when needed.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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