Wanted: a thousand coronavirus-positive women with breast milk to spare.

Dutch researchers have isolated coronavirus antibodies in the milk of women who have tested positive, and they are now studying whether the life-giving liquid could be administered to people who are especially vulnerable to severe illness, such as the elderly, reported English-language outlet Dutch News.

Pasteurizing does not destroy the antibodies, so the milk could be made safe for other people’s consumption.

Ten years ago there was breast milk cheese. In the 2020 version, the antibody-laden breast milk could be delivered “possibly in the form of flavored ice cubes,” said the research team from Amsterdam University Medical Center’s Emma Children’s Hospital.

“We think when drinking the milk, the antibodies attach themselves to the surface of our mucous membranes,” Hans van Goudoever, who heads Emma Children’s Hospital, told Dutch News. “Then they attack the virus particles before they force their way into the body.”

Earlier this week the hospital began recruiting coronavirus-positive women — whether ill with COVID-19 or not — to donate breast milk and asked them to pump 100 milliliters, or 3.4 ounces, for the Breast Milk Bank, reported The Brussels Times.

“Women who may have had coronavirus without noticing it may also have made antibodies which can be found in milk,” van Goudoever told Dutch News. “So we are looking for mothers who may have been infected as well.”

The milk started flowing, with more than 5,000 offers flooding in, overwhelming scientists.

“Our researchers are extremely enthusiastic about the large response,” a Children’s Hospital spokesperson told The Brussels Times.

Van Goudoever and his colleagues also hope the women will give permission for the milk to be stored for future research.

If it proves useful, the milk could potentially be used to prevent infection, the researchers said – though it could lead to some awkward moments, as researcher Brit van Keulen noted in April, according to news site Steemit. “It is perhaps a strange picture, elderly pe?ple drinking breast milk.”