DEVELOPING A CONCEPTUAL MODEL TO EVALUATE SHELF-LIFE EXTENSION AS A RESILLIENT STRATEGY IN HUMAN MILK BANKS

The COVID-19 pandemic and higher levels of uncertainty due to climate change have emphasised the need for resilient and secure supply chains. This is also true for Human Milk Banks (HMBs), which are responsible for providing screened and safe Donor Human Milk (DHM) to neonatal hospital infants. Given the perishable nature of human milk, current UK operations are constrained by practices yielding a maximum shelf-life of six months. For improved resiliency and improved adverse event preparedness we present a conceptual model of HMB operations, which is an augmented version of one previously communicated, incorporating an additional process pathway yielding DHM with an extended shelf-life of 18 months. To address the associated operational constraints, our new conceptual model provides a framework for exploring the potential benefits of extended shelf-life on supply chain performance, especially related to inventory management and an enhanced ability for human milk banks to face future disruptions.