Blood doping

Blood doping is a method of artificially raising the hemoglobin concentration in the blood of an athlete through transfusion of blood products, the increased concentrations of red blood cells contain red blood cell concentrates. Higher hemoglobin concentrations improve oxygen uptake and oxygen transport capacity of the blood, which allow the blutgedopten athletes to increase its endurance performance. The units of blood needed for transfusions may previously autologous blood donation (autologous blood transfusion ) or allogeneic donations of one or more suitable foreign persons (homologous blood transfusion ) are applied.

Blood doping is on the list of prohibited methods of the International Olympic Committee (IOC ) and the World Anti -Doping Agency ( WADA) since 1988.

Method

For the autologous blood doping the athlete is taken about 1 liter of blood a few weeks before the competition. The athlete has the number of erythrocytes contained in his blood already been increased by completion of a high-altitude training or use of EPO. In a centrifuge to separate the red blood cells from the remaining blood components are returned to the donor immediately back into the bloodstream. The recovered blood products of concentrated red blood cells stored mixed with an anticoagulant / preservative and refrigerated. Shortly before the race ( since it has been then normalized the blood circulation again) leads to the athlete, the stored blood by transfusion. The many red blood cells increase oxygen delivery, so that the athlete can accomplish better performance in the field of endurance. When homologous blood doping one needs a donor with the same blood group and rhesus factor identical, which can also be non-athletes, which has the "advantage " is that it is not subject to controls.

History of blood doping

The technique of blood doping has been known since the 1970s and is used primarily in endurance sports such as biathlon, cross country skiing, swimming, rowing and cycling. With the existing since 1987 possibility of the genetic production of EPO in the more complex handling blood doping lost in subsequent years to meaning, whereas in developed EPO abuse the dominant doping method in the 1990s. The introduction of an EPO detection method in 2000, but EPO lost abruptly attractive in using doping substances athletes and there was a comeback of blood doping, which ( at least in the form of autologous blood doping ) so far is not detectable by individual tests. However, the detection of blood doping paraphernalia at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, or stored blood units with supporting evidence of donor identity as in doping scandal Fuentes could lead to lock dopender athletes or their helpers.

Effect

  • Increased maximum oxygen uptake
  • Increased hemoglobin concentration
  • Increased total hemoglobin mass
  • Increase the " water reserve " in the blood (improved thermoregulation )
  • Increase the buffer capacity of the blood (via increased blood volume )

By means of blood doping can increase performance up to 5 % can be achieved.

Hazards

  • Septic shock by transfusion of infected blood products
  • Transmission of disease through infected blood products (AIDS, hepatitis B and C among allogeneic donations, low risk)
  • Blood deficiency
  • Dizziness
  • Anxiety and abdominal pain
  • Risk of cardiovascular death
  • Increased thrombosis and embolism risk by thickened blood
  • Risk of central venous thrombosis in the eye

Detectability and its limits

Blood doping using EPO can since 2000, even in low concentrations by a multistage process, the dopage by Françoise Lasne and Jaques de Ceaurriz from the Laboratoire national de détection you ( LNDD ) was developed to be detected in the urine - but only for a short time (about. two days ). Robin Paris Otto of the Australian Institute of Sport has with his team of researchers in 2000 developed a EPO blood test to proof up to six weeks after absorption into the body is possible, as he said in an interview on ARD television documentary "Blood and Games " in August 2007 stated.

End of 2003, an Australian research group succeeded to the doping expert Michael Ashenden the development of a detection method for homologous blood doping. The method is based on the high probability to be found different antigen in the blood of two groups of different persons. In this way, foreign blood fractions can be detected by less than 5%.

The method is applied since 2004 accredited by the World Anti -Doping Agency laboratories Sydney, Athens and Lausanne for use in doping controls. A scientific examination is still pending.

Autologous blood doping is not yet detectable. However, traces of ethylene glycol contained in the blood is often used as a stabilizer can provide an indication of autologous blood doping. In addition, it can be determined in the blood for the measurement of hematocrit, the percentage of red blood cells. These are then propagated exists because the body has brought to the blood collection, the number of blood cells back to the old value and then increased by the supply of drawn blood, the number greatly. However, this does not serve as concrete proof.

Another indication may be traces of plastic softeners in the blood of the person concerned. This dissolves in the blood bags made ​​of plastic.

In cycling are athletes since 1997 in which a hematocrit of about 50 % is found locked for security reasons. Using this value as a criterion for sanctioning measures is problematic. On the one hand, athletes engaged in blood doping, by supplying fluid, serum or liquefying agents suppress their excessive hematocrit temporarily before the check measurement below 50% and thus disguise the blood doping. On the other hand, if only by genetic predisposition or legal training methods (such as altitude training ) an anti-competitive in cycling hematocrit be obtained. The value is by no means a clear indicator of doping.

According to research by the University of Bayreuth, the absolute amount of hemoglobin changed naturally only to a limited extent. Through long-term measurements evidence of tampering can be so seen, regardless of whether they are caused by autologous blood or EPO.

Known blood doping cases

  • The Austrian biathletes Wolfgang Perner and Wolfgang Rottmann were transferred by the IOC of blood doping. During the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, both fled Italian doping investigators to Austria. They were later suspended.
  • Kaarlo Maaninka, a successful Finnish cross-country skiers, admitted in 1981 to have received blood transfusions in Moscow before the 1980 Olympic Games.
  • The professional cyclist Tyler Hamilton was transferred at the Tour of Spain of foreign blood doping on September 11, 2004. He was the first athlete to homologous blood doping could be detected.
  • Hamilton's teammate Santiago Perez was also tested a short time later at the Vuelta in 2004 positively to homologous blood doping.
  • After investigation of the Spanish doctor Fuentes environment, where authorities seized large stocks of banked blood, several top drivers were excluded from the Tour de France 2006 (see doping scandal Fuentes ).
  • In 2007 Alexandre Vinokourov homologous blood doping has been found in the Tour de France. A and B samples were positive.
  • In the Kazakh Andrei Kaschetschkin the team Astana a banned blood transfusion after a training control on 1 August 2007 in Turkey demonstrated. He was immediately suspended, with also with him the following analysis of the B sample was positive.
  • Former professional cyclist Jan Ullrich has admitted blood doping at the Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes.
Blood type Cross-country skiing Cycle sport Operación Puerto doping case Hepatitis C Long-term experiment Alexander Vinokourov Haematologica Die Presse
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