Team Little Rock Airmen donate blood and blood platelets during a blood drive held on August 4, 2019, at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. In order to extract platelets, specialists use apheresis machines to draw blood and return the unused portions of the donor. Platelets are tiny cells in the body that form clots and stop bleeding. They are essential to surviving traumatic injuries. Platelets must be used within five days and new donors are needed every day. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Nathan Byrnes)