Blood doping: risks to athletes' health and strategies for detection
Blood doping has been defined as the misuse of substances or certain techniques to optimize oxygen delivery to muscles with the aim to increase performance in sports activities. It includes blood transfusion, administration of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents or blood substitutes, and gene manipulations.
Blood Doping: Types, Risks, and Tests - WebMD
Blood doping via transfusion carries additional risks. Tainted blood can spread infectious diseases such as: HIV hepatitis B hepatitis C Over time, repeated blood transfusions can cause a...
Blood Doping and EPO: An Anti-Doping FAQ | USADA
WADA explains that EPO thickens the blood, which “leads to an increased risk of several deadly diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, and cerebral or pulmonary embolism.” Athletes who misuse recombinant human EPO are also at risk of serious autoimmune diseases. How long can EPO stay in a person’s system?
Blood Doping: Types, Risks, and Tests
WebMD explains blood doping -- an illicit method of boosting athletic performance that's especially used by cyclists -- including tests used to detect doping.
Blood transfusions in athletes. Old dogmas, new tricks - PubMed
The former case produces more clinically relevant side effects, but is easily detectable using current antidoping protocols based on erythrocyte phenotyping by flow cytometry and, eventually, erythrocyte genotyping by DNA testing. Since the donor and recipient blood are identical in autologous blood doping, this is less risky, though much more
- What is blood doping?
- They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. blood doping, use of substances or techniques that increase the number of circulating red blood cells (erythrocytes) or the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood to improve human performance.
- Are there different types of blood doping?
- Athletes use synthetic oxygen carriers to achieve the same performance-enhancing effects of other types of blood doping: increased oxygen in the blood that helps fuel muscles. There are tests to detect some types of blood doping, but not all. Here's a roundup of testing for different types of blood doping: Autologous transfusions.
- How does blood doping affect athletic performance?
- In many cases, blood doping increases the amount of hemoglobin in the bloodstream. Hemoglobin is an oxygen-carrying protein in the blood. So increasing hemoglobin allows higher amounts of oxygen to reach and fuel an athlete's muscles. This can improve stamina and performance, particularly in long-distance events, such as running and cycling.
- Can a blood test detect blood doping?
- There are tests to detect some types of blood doping, but not all. Here's a roundup of testing for different types of blood doping: Autologous transfusions. Currently, no test exists to directly detect autologous transfusions. Instead, indirect methods are used.
- How do athletes test for doping?
- One indirect method involves comparing an athlete's blood profile at testing time to blood samples collected at previous times. Significant differences between the two indicate possible blood doping. Known as the Athlete Passport, this method is endorsed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Homologous transfusions.
- Is blood doping illegal?
- Many methods of blood doping are illegal, particularly in professional sports where it is considered to give an artificial advantage to the competitor. Anti-doping agencies use tests to try to identify individuals who have been blood doping using a number of methods, typically by analyzing blood samples from the competitors.
