Blood transfusion doping is one of the most advanced methods of illegally increasing endurance. It requires a lot of resources and creates the risk of numerous complications, but its undeniable advantage is the low level of detection in anti-doping tests. Blood doping is most often used by cyclists, runners and swimmers, i.e. competitors of endurance disciplines. How does blood transfusion affect their athletic performance?

Blood transfusionis the most common form ofphysiological doping in athletes. Doping of this type involves the use of various medical techniques that can increase the body's exercise capacity without the need to administer additional substances. The purpose of the pre-competition transfusion is to increase the oxygen capacity of the athlete's blood, which translates into improved endurance.

What is the doping blood transfusion procedure and what are the benefits for competitors?

Blood transfusion as doping - what are the benefits for athletes?

Blood transfusion as a doping method gives similar results to taking EPO - a hormone that stimulates the production of red blood cells. As a result, the number of red blood cells increases, which are responsible for transporting oxygen to all cells in the body, including muscles. And the more oxygenated the muscles are, the longer and more efficiently they can work.

It is estimated that transfusing half a liter of blood increases the total number of red blood cells by 10%, which are able to take up 8% more oxygen. As a result of transfusion, you can also increase your VO2 max. (VO2max), i.e. the maximum oxygen consumption during exercise, by 5%. All these values ​​translate into an overall improvement in the athlete's performance. Thanks to this, he can exercise longer, harder, tire less, and thus - achieve better sports results.

Blood transfusion as doping - blood transfusion methods and the risk of doping detection

Blood can be transfused in two ways:

  • through blood transfusion from another donor - then there must be compatibility between the donor and recipient within blood groups;
  • by autotransfusion - the blood recipient is also a blood donor. With this method, the problem of the risk of an immune reaction to the presence of antigens or the transmission of viral disease from a donor is eliminated.

In sport doping, autotransfusion is the most common. Firstly, because it reduces the risk of side effects (e.g. infection, allergic reaction), and secondly - which is most important for dishonest players - due to the lack of effective methods of detecting this doping procedure. While the fact of transfusing blood from another donor can be easily detected by testing for the presence of individual antigens, blood cells transfused to themselves have the same structure as the rest of the cells remaining in the bloodstream and cannot be distinguished.

Blood autotransfusion is difficult to detect in doping tests. However, it was possible to limit the use of this method of doping among cyclists by determining the maximum number of erythrocytes in the blood of competing competitors.

There is only an indirect method that can prove autotransfusion - it involves the athlete inhaling and exhaling a mixture of gases with carbon dioxide, and then measuring and comparing the appropriate blood parameters before and after inhalation. If the hemoglobin volume after this test is greater than before, this may indicate a past autotransfusion procedure. Such a test, however, has a major disadvantage, namely it cannot be performed just before a competition, because inhaling CO2has a negative effect on the athlete's respiratory performance and may worsen his performance.

Worth knowing

High-profile cases of blood doping in cycling

Doping is often treated as a lucrative business in which athletes are only customers who pay doctors for medical services to improve their performance. One of the popular specialists who offered his services to players of various disciplines (including the sale of EPO, testosterone, blood transfusions) was Eufemiano Fuentes, a Spanish doctor. His clients were, among others Tour de France riders - Jan Ullrich, Ivan Basso, Tyler Hamilton. After the doping scandal broke out in 2006, everyone was excluded from participating in the prestigious French race.

Paid transfusions were also handled by Dr. Michele Ferrari, who used this type of doping on Lance Armstrong. Armstrong's team, under Ferriari's watchful eye, transfused their blood in hotel rooms between the stages of the Tour de France. During this time (in the years 1999-2005), the American won this race six times. After it was revealed that he had used various types of doping, he was stripped of all his victories and disqualified for life.

Blood transfusion as doping - what does it look like?

The blood transfusion procedure is much more complicated than the illegal usepharmacological agents. Its conduct requires appropriate tools, sterile conditions and professional medical care. The procedure is also extended in time - the collected blood remains in the laboratory for several weeks, and only immediately before the competition is transfused to the competitor. During this time, the raw material must be stored in optimal conditions so that it does not lose its properties.

You can learn exactly how the whole process of blood transfusion in athletes is carried out from the reports of the players themselves who were caught doping. In order for the procedure to be successful, it must follow a top-down plan. The competitors themselves are not able to judge when to transfuse themselves to do their best in the competition. Therefore, they often pay qualified doctors to arrange a transfusion schedule for them week by week. For example, a cyclist who takes part in a multi-stage race that lasts several dozen days, donates his first bag of blood 10 weeks before the competition. After 4 weeks, he gives another 2 bags, but the one that he filled earlier has to be transfused so that the blood loss is not too large. After 2 weeks, he gives back 3 bags, rolling the previous two over himself. Thus, during the race, he has 3 bags of fresh blood in stock.

So that the material does not lose its properties, erythrocytes are separated from the blood plasma. You can store them in a refrigerator at 4 degrees (then they age faster) or keep them frozen at -80 degrees Celsius - then their storage time can be up to 10 years with a loss of erythrocytes of 10-15%.

Blood transfusion doping - complications and side effects

Any blood transfusion carries a risk of serious complications. The most common are:

  • fever,
  • increase in blood pressure,
  • increased risk of blood clots and, consequently, a stroke or heart attack,
  • acute bacterial infections,
  • allergic reactions (can even lead to death),
  • jaundice, HIV, hepatitis B infection

Category:

Cardiology