Blood centers today work to protect the health but also the rights of donors, patients and hospitals. Blood centers may be affected by new laws, policies and standards of healthcare. Relationship building with legislative representatives can be vital and help influence issues affecting blood industry operations. But first it is important to understand where your blood center aligns on issues that have an impact on the blood industry. Many of these decisions are driven at the local level and can take time to work through, depending on the complexity. In addition, alignment with local, state and federal legislators can be an additional outlet for your blood center to assist in delivery of mission and message.