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Athletes use transfuse and re-infuse blood to maximize performance effects and

minimize health risks. There are three main types of blood doping EPO, synthetic oxygen
carriers, and blood transfusions. All of them improve stamina and performance so long distance
athletes such as runners and cyclist are often the most common users.
EPO or eythropoietin. is peptide hormone produced naturally by the body. It released
from the kidneys and effects the bone marrow, simulating the production of red blood cell
production. It increases the red blood cell count to improve the amount of oxygen traveling to the
bodys muscle and better the buffering of lactic acid. It can be a serious health risk for the
athletes when they use to get a boost in performance because it thickens the blood and can lead
to multiple deadly disease. The athletes my suffer from heart disease, stroke, and even cerebral
or pulmonary embolism. You can detect if the athlete has used EPO by testing their urine and
blood.
There are two types of synthetic oxygen carriers, hemoglobin based oxygen carriers
(HBOCs) and perflurocarbon (PFCs). Both of them are are purified proteins or chemicals having
the ability to carry oxygen. This is useful for emergency stand in when human blood is not
available, or when the risk of blood infection is too high while there isnt enough time to cross
match donated blood. Hemoglobin based carriers can also improve the aerobic captivity in
humans and animals. This is useful for emergency stand in when human blood is not available,
or when the risk of blood infection is too high while there isnt enough time to cross match
donated blood. Hemoglobin based carriers can also improve the aerobic captivity in humans and
animals. While beneficial in the medical world, if athletes abuse it then there will be many health
risks. When using this, there is risk of cardio vascular disease and side effects such as stroke,

myocardial infraction, and embolism. Perfluorocarbon can be tested for by chromatography


because it is not metabolized by the body and exits through the lungs. Hemoglobin based carriers
can be decide by the detection of free hemoglobin. The testing for this was established in 2004.
There are also two types of blood transfusions as well, autologous and homologous. Autologous transfusions is the procedure of drawing out blood and refrigerated or frozen it to be
injected back in to the body when needed. Homologous transfusions is when the blood of another
with the same blood type, is injected into the body. Usually in the medical field they use it for
blood transfusions for patients in surgery. Autologous transfusions take the pressure off of
finding the right donor and this transfusion is very difficult to detect. In Autologous transfusions,
lots of blood has to be drawn out of the body and weakens the athlete and is incapable of
competing. Homologous transfusions can be tested by looking for a presence of forgiven red
blood cells with a foreign origin.
When blood boasting they should be doing while training as well. With EPO, they get the
athletes started off with a high dosage to get their O2 levels up then they maintain it with lower
dosages through out time. Blood transfusions are the same because often they transfuse blood
with EPO in the system. The also transfuse before a race because they have the EPO blood
transfused in the blood to boost their performance,
Though blood boosting helps the performance in the short run, it doesn't change you
physically unless you have a blood transfusion. When that happen the change you're going to is
just red blood cells of a foreign origin. EPO doesn't help with any structural improvements. It
does not change the capillary density, muscle size, or muscle fiber type of the body. However
there are a lot of negative side effects that may stick with the athlete for a long period of time.

Blood doping can lead to multiple deadly disease. They my suffer from heart disease, stroke, and
even cerebral, pulmonary embolism and weakens the body in the long run.
The HBOT or altitude chamber is also a common training tool used by athletes as well. It
boots ATP production rate by increasing oxygen absorption rate. Normally we only absorb 25%
of the oxygen we take in. In the chamber we increase absorption rate by 40 to 50% because the
pressure in the chamber the oxygen is forced on to the lungs, bloodstream, and cells. With the
HBOT the body is still getting help from an outside source just like blood doping. The difference
between the the two is that the blood doping is pitting a foreign substance in to the body that was
never there and the HBOT is not introducing new substances in to your body. The HBOT is just
naturally accelerate the intake of oxygen.
Andy Miah, a bioethicist at the University of the West of Scotland in Ayr, says If the
goal is to protect health, then medically supervised doping is likely to be a better route. Better
yet, the world of sport should complement the World Anti-Doping Agency with a World ProDoping Agency, the goal of which is to invest in safer forms of enhancement. According to
hiim, the key to legality of blood boosting is regulation.

Citations
Blood Doping. (2014, December 1). Retrieved October 15, 2015.
Blood Doping 101 | CyclingTips. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2015.
Cavaiola, M. (2013, February 22). Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (HBOT) Boosts Athletic
Performance! Retrieved October 15, 2015.
Doping in Sports: Blood Oxygenation Enhancement. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2015.
Connor, T. (2014, February 20). An analysis of the long-term effects of performance-enhancing
drugs - Page 3 of 3 - VeloNews.com. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
Schumacher, Y. (2001, November 7). Result Filters. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
Smith, A. (n.d.). Dopeology. Retrieved October 15, 2015.
Thompson, H. (2012, July 18). Performance enhancement: Superhuman athletes. Retrieved
October 15, 2015.
Walunj, A. (2006, August 24). BJA: CEACCP. Retrieved October 15, 2015.

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