On University Health’s main San Antonio campus, construction crews are carving out space for what hospital leaders say will be a game changer for the region’s tiniest patients: a donor milk bank that will give medically fragile newborns faster access to pasteurized human milk. Tucked alongside the Women’s & Children’s Hospital, the facility is being billed as the first milk bank serving South Texas.
The project is no small build. According to Community Impact, the milk bank is planned as an 8,000-square-foot, $5.6 million facility that broke ground in early 2026 and is slated to open in spring 2027. University Health Milk Bank Director Maciel Ugalde told the outlet the new operation will “close a major gap in access” for families across San Antonio and New Braunfels.
As laid out in University Health’s Board of Managers meeting minutes, the milk bank will use roughly two thirds of a vacated 16,000-square-foot space in the former Rio Tower, with room carved out for processing, pasteurization and testing before milk is distributed to NICU patients. The board recommended a construction agreement not to exceed about $6.97 million and a total project budget up to roughly $9.55 million, part of a broader capital plan for the campus. University Health details the planned scope and safety protocols.
Funding and equipment
Philanthropic dollars are doing a lot of the heavy lifting behind the scenes. Community Impact reports that donors include The John R. & Greli N. Less Charitable Trust, the Charity Ball Association, the Nancy Smith Hurd Foundation and Blue Cross Blue Shield. To make giving easier, the hospital is expected to set up several milk drop-off points across the campus, so approved donors do not have to trek across town with a cooler in hand.
The Charity Ball Association’s own giving list highlights the purchase of two human milk pasteurization machines to support the new bank, an investment the group says will help collect, pasteurize and distribute donated milk for premature infants. Charity Ball Association documents that commitment in its charitable beneficiary reports.
Regional need and national context
For now, families and hospitals in San Antonio depend on the Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin for donor milk depots and regional distribution. On its website, Mothers' Milk Bank at Austin lists local drop-off depots and partner sites that currently serve South Texas hospitals.
Those depots are part of a relatively small national network. Nonprofit milk banks are still few and far between, with the Human Milk Banking Association of North America counting roughly three dozen member banks across the continent. Mothers' Milk Bank California notes that HMBANA membership totals around 32 banks, a number that underscores how tight local supply can be when demand spikes in NICUs.
What comes next
To help get the San Antonio bank over the finish line, University Health Foundation reports that it secured a $300,000 grant in May 2025 to support the project and expand local access to pasteurized donor milk. University Health says the investment is intended to ensure vulnerable infants receive lifesaving nutrition while the system completes construction and finalizes operations planning.
Hospital officials say donor screening, pasteurization and testing systems are being put in place now so the new milk bank can safely distribute pasteurized human milk to NICU babies as soon as the facility opens its doors.
