Frank Gordy drove Monday from Louisville to Shepeard Community Blood Center in Augusta just so he could sit back on a chair, offer up his arm and donate.

"I don't think there's any finer gift you can give to your neighbors than to give blood," said Mr. Gordy, 69, who has been a donor since the early 1970s.

In the season of giving, however, donations tend to dry up and the blood banks have to get creative about how they reach people. To make matters worse, the winter months also see an increase in burns, which can use up a lot of blood products to treat.

To solve its annual dilemma, Shepeard this year is going to the movies.

"The idea is that people are going to the movies and as long as they're waiting in line maybe they'll say, 'Oh, this is something I can do,' " said Linda Petersen, the Georgia community relations coordinator. Going to the movies is a tradition for many this time of year and many highly anticipated films premiere this week.

"I guess you just need to go where the people are, right?" Ms. Petersen said.

To sweeten the deal, Shepeard is offering a movie ticket with each donation as it sets up at area theaters beginning Saturday and extending through next week. Shepeard is also holding a weekly drawing this month to give away a laptop, a plasma screen television or a $1,000 gift card.

Setting up mobile drives is particularly tough in December, Ms. Petersen said. And that can be a problem for places such as the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital, said Medical Director Fred Mullins.

"In the cold months, especially when you have cold snaps like we're having, you see quite an influx in the number of house fires," he said. "With the Christmas lights, the open candles, we see an increase in burns."

The burn center typically stays full and those patients use a lot of blood products, which can tax the system, Dr. Mullins said.

"We always have a shortage around this time of year," he said. In fact, at times surgeries have had to be put on hold because of a lack of blood or blood products like platelets, Dr. Mullins said.

"Thank goodness we usually don't have to hold them usually more than 12 or 24 hours," he said.

Shepeard hopes the movie idea will help tide it over the next two weeks, Ms. Petersen said. And then there are the regulars such as Mr. Gordy, who said he tries to give six times a year, which is about the maximum allowed. He's hoping, should he ever need it, what comes around, goes around.

"I hope someone might take time out for me one day," Mr. Gordy said.

Reach Tom Corwin at (706) 823-3213 or tom.corwin@augustachronicle.com.