Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
Doping by expanding the red cell mass
“Induced erythrocythemia” is a term used to describe expansion of the blood
volume by transfusion of whole blood, transfusion of packed red cells, or by
administration of erythropoietic proteins. The term “blood doping” has been
used to describe any of these three methods, although obvious differences exist
in the techniques and the infrastructure required to use them.
Autologous and homologous blood doping in sport
Athletes have used both homologous and autologous blood products. The typ-
ical technique for autologous transfusion involves phlebotomy, freezing the
red blood cells under glycerol, allowing eight to 12 weeks for hemoglobin
recovery while continuing training,and infusion of the red blood cells one to
two days before the scheduled athletic event. The use of homologous blood
products avoids the regeneration period, but is associated with multiple risks
and adverse effects. The terms “blood packing” and “blood boosting” usually
refer to doping with homologous and autologous blood products, respectively.
Rumors and anecdotes suggest that an airplane equipped with refrigeration
devices was used to support doping at the 1976 Games in Montreal. The first
documented case of blood doping occurred in the 1980 Olympics in Moscow
when a Finnish distance runner freely admitted having received two units of
blood shortly before he won medals in the 5- and 10-km races [11]. At the 1984
Games in Los Angeles, seven cyclists from the United States team were found
to have blood doped [12]. One cyclist doped by autologous transfusion and had
his personal-best time at the Olympic trials a month before the Games. By the
time the news reached his team-mates, it was too late to use the autologous
infusion paradigm, so with the aid of a physician, whole blood from relatives
and unrelated donors was transfused to the cyclists in a motel room [13]. Four
of the seven cyclists won medals. During the ensuing investigation, the athletes
justified the act by pointing out that the IOC list of prohibited substances did
not explicitly ban blood doping. Shortly thereafter, the IOC added doping with
blood products to the list. The only other documented case is that of a United
States skier who admitted to blood doping with autologous blood in 1987 [14].
Doping with rHuEPO in sport
Given that blood doping with transfusions is a complicated matter that requires
substantial infrastructure, such as blood harvesting equipment, processing
devices, and refrigeration, it is understandable that the availability of a drug,
even one that required intravenous or subcutaneous injection, would be used.
It is not known when doping with rHuEPO began. The secrecy and privacy that
surrounds the topic precludes detailed knowledge, but it is understood that ath-
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