Feel Good. Give Blood. Published Oct. 28, 2011 By Capt. Brittany Martin 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Sheppard Air Force Base hosted a blood drive Oct. 25-27 at the Airmen's Club for the Texas Blood Institute blood bank. Through the blood drive, 547 Sheppard donors contributed 473 units of blood, with each unit being just short of a pint. "Doing our part and donating blood to help save lives is important, and I feel everyone should do their part. Just one pint of blood can save three people's lives," said Tech. Sgt. Melissa Oberschlake, 361st Training Squadron instructor supervisor and October's Base Blood Drive point of contact. In order to run the blood drive, numerous base members contributed more than 120 volunteer hours over the three-day period to assist with paperwork and ensure that donors were escorted and provided drinks and snacks as they recovered. Many of the Sheppard blood drive workers volunteered their time because they could not give blood for various reasons. Oberschlake was one of the volunteers that could not donate blood because of her time stationed overseas; however, this year instead of just volunteering, she ran the effort. "I usually volunteer as a worker. This time I had the opportunity to organize the drive, and that was a huge learning experience for me. I would definitely love doing it again if I had the opportunity," Oberschlake said. The Texas Blood Institute is the sole source for blood for the area's hospitals, a statistic that has held true for the past seven years. TBI also regularly sends blood to military blood banks. Multiple blood drives are held on base each year, a necessity due to the constant need for blood and its limited shelf life. The final blood drive on Sheppard AFB for this year will be held by the Red Cross and is scheduled for Dec. 13-15.