Donors at the Stanford Blood Center will have a chance to win a bottle of wine from the private collection of Vince Yalon, the center's administrator, in a drawing at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Palo Alto Mayor Yoriko Kishimoto will conduct the drawing.

The Dec. 18 prize drawing will kick off a month of activities at the center's locations in Palo Alto and Mountain View to encourage blood donations during the holiday season.

"We know people are busy this time of the year but patients continue to need blood, so we're pulling out all the stops to encourage and thank people for saving lives during the holidays," center spokesperson Michele Hyndman said.

The center will have other promotions, including giving away T-shirts, movie tickets and ice cream, to donors on specific dates.

The center is currently experiencing a severe Rh-negative blood shortage (blood types O-, A-, B- and AB-).

For more information, visit the center's Web site at bloodcenter.stanford.edu . To make an appointment to donate blood, call 650-723-7831. Donors must be in good health with no cold or flu symptoms.

-- Don Kazak