Research Presentation on the Manipulation of Blood in Athletics

1. Manipulation of Blood/Blood
Components
Lane Ours, Jeremiah Cruz, Trent Patrick, Vaughn Tew

2. What is the Manipulation of
Blood/Blood Components
• Definition: Reintroduction of blood/blood products to artificially enhance
oxygen transportation/delivery. Therefore, increasing oxygen transport
capacity of skeletal muscles.
• This form of ”substance abuse” has been shown to be the most powerful tool
for improving athletic performance in aerobic sports.
• Commonly Referred to as "Blood Doping"
• Most Common methods of Blood Doping:
- Autologous Blood Transfusion: collection of blood from a single patient and
retransfusion back to the same patient when required.
- Recombinant Human Erythropoietin: biopharmaceutical drug given to patients
to treat low hemoglobin levels.

3. General Usage Patterns
• The most popular group who are interested/ have historically used blood doping:
- Distance runners (800m & up)
- Swimmers in distance races
- Cyclists
- Participants in Triathlon
- Rowing
• Uses:
• Athlete's typically use Blood Doping to:
-Increase RBC count
-Increases transport of Oxygen in the blood to muscles
- More Oxygen transport has been shown to increase performance

4. General Effects
• Benefits:
- Increases Oxygen Transport in blood to muscles
- Increases Sport Performance
- Endurance Performance enhanced through longer distance/
intensity levels
• Adverse Effects:
Short-term:
- Allergic Reactions
- Fever
- Rashes/Hives
- Mild flu-like symptoms
Long-term:
Increases risk of:
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Blood clotting
-HIV, Hepatitis B & C

5. Who can Blood Doping Benefit?
•Benefits
- Increased O2 uptake to working muscles
- Increased aerobic capacity
- Increased endurance and stamina
- Increase in erythropoietin
•Athletes
- primarily endurance related sports
- most prevalent in track and field
- endurance vs. non-endurance athletes
•Usage
- Elite athletes = most benefit
- Anemics
- No correlation between race and predispositions
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6. Who can Blood Doping Harm?
• Blood doping can be dangerous
to those with high blood pressure
or a family history of high blood
pressure
• Because blood doping thickens
the blood, a person with high
blood pressure will notice that
their symptoms increase if they
attempted blood doping

7. Research Concluded
• Conclusion
• Blood doping is still being used today to help athletes gain an
edge in their sports by increasing performance and stamina
• The USADA has placed sanctions against athletes who have
violated WADA’s anti blood doping law which have taken
place as recently as 2019
• Elite distance athletes- primary users
• Future of Blood Doping
• Athlete Biological Passport
• Strengthening international anti-drug agencies

8. References:
• Ambardekar, N. (2021, August 11). Blood doping: Types, risks, and tests. WebMD. Retrieved October 28, 2021, from
https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/blood-doping.
• Blood doping. World Anti-Doping Agency. (2015, January 15). Retrieved November 2, 2021, from https://www.wada-
ama.org/en/questions-answers/blood-doping.
• Faiss R;Saugy J;Zollinger A;Robinson N;Schuetz F;Saugy M;Garnier PY; (2020, February 25). Prevalence estimate of blood doping in
elite track and field athletes during two major international events. Frontiers in physiology. Retrieved November 2, 2021, from
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32161553/.
• Jelkmann, W. (2016, June). Features of blood doping. Retrieved October 30, 2021, from
https://www.germanjournalsportsmedicine.com/archive/archive-2016/issue-11/features-of-blood-doping/.
• Lundby, C., Saltin, B., & Robach, P. (2012, March). The evolving science of detection of 'blood doping'. British journal of
pharmacology. Retrieved November 1, 2021, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22225538/.
• Perishable. (2021, September 29). Sanctions - anti-doping violations. U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA). Retrieved October 31,
2021, from https://www.usada.org/news/sanctions/.
• Plumb, J. O. M., Otto, J. M., & Grocott, M. P. W. (2016, February 29). 'blood doping' from Armstrong to prehabilitation:
Manipulation of blood to improve performance in athletes and physiological reserve in patients. Extreme physiology & medicine.
Retrieved November 1, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4770708/.
• Solheim, S., Bejder, J., Breenfeldt Andersen, A., Mørkeberg, J., & Nordsborg, N. (2019, July 8). Autologous blood transfusion
enhances exercise performance-strength of the evidence and physiological mechanisms. Sports medicine - open. Retrieved
October 28, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6614299/.