The ethics of blood testing as an element of doping control in sport

Abstract

Sport authorities continue to confront a variety of perplexing issues as they attempt to address effectively and efficiently the problems posed by doping. The emergence of the phenomena of blood doping and the administration of erythropoietin have added to the challenges faced by doping control authorities. Some sport organizations have introduced blood tests in an attempt to deal with these issues despite the absence of any effective test for the detection of the administration of homologous blood products or eythropoietin. A number of ethical issues are raised by such developments. Even in the presence of an effective test it is suggested that the decision to implement a specific testing approach can be reached by considering the wishes of a hypothetical "Fair Competitor" and an analysis of the costs involved. In this respect the Fair Competitor assumes in the sport community the role that the "reasonable person" occupies in law, permitting an analysis of a proposed course of action. In making any decision regarding the implementation of any test, a Fair Competitor would be guided by considerations of the postulated advantage and incidence of a doping technique, the likelihood of false positive and negative results, the risk of unwanted consequences of a testing process, and a concern that a specific test not accelerate the likelihood of the use of other doping methods. This approach is applied to a consideration of the appropriateness of blood testing in sport. It is concluded, using such an analysis, that in their present state of development, blood tests should not be implemented. It is recognized that certain sport authorities currently use blood tests to exclude competitors whose blood values exceed certain predetermined levels on the grounds of concerns regarding health and safety. Screening of this kind is beyond the purview of this discussion.

Laboratory Screening for Erythropoietin Abuse in Sport: an Emerging Challenge

“…To limit this worrying phenomenon, several sport organizations have introduced urine and blood tests; however, several ethical issues are raised by such developments (64). In general, the protection of athletes' health is a primary need, which should be assured along with the fairness of the competition.…”

Controle de dopagem no esporte: aspectos químicos e farmacológicos que afetam a detecção de drogas no cabelo

“…A concentração urinária da maioria dessas substâncias (denominadas clássicas) excede os valores encontrados em outras matrizes biológicas, tornando essa matriz de fácil coleta a eleita para controle de dopagem (Delbeke, 1991;Donike et al, 1992;Shanzer, Donike, 1993;Ayotte et al, 1996;Hemmersbach, De La Torre, 1996;Geyer et al, 1998;Horning et al, 1998a-b;Ramos et al, 1998;Marques et al, 1999;Ramos, 2000;Henze et al, 2001;Aquino Neto, 2001;Pereira et al, 2001). Nos últimos anos, o advento de novas substâncias, como hCG, IGF-1, EPO (eritropoietina), interleucina-3, PFCs, expansor do volume plasmático e pró-hormônios, impulsionou não apenas a busca de novas metodologias analíticas, mas também o estudo de matrizes alternativas para o controle das mesmas (Breo, 1990;Rickert et al, 1992;Saugy et al, 1996 ;Schänzer et al, 1996;Healy et al, 1997;Abranson et al, 1996;Audran et al, 1999;Augenstein, 1999;Birkland, Hemmersbach, 1999;Bôer et al, 1999;Browne et al, 1999;Riess, et al, 1999;Callies et al, 2000;Carrasquilla, 2000;Geyer et al, 2000;Thevis et al, 2000;De Cock et al, 2001;Draisci et al, 2001;Saugy, 2001).…”

“…Para as substâncias, denominadas não-clássicas (ver texto anterior), matrizes alternativas como cabelo, sangue, plasma e ar expirado devem ser investigados (Horning et al, 1977;Swinkels et al, 1992;Lac et al, 1993;Dongmi et al, 1996;Ciremille et al, 1999;Gaillard et al, 1999;Gaillard et al, 1999;Ciremelle et al, 2000;) à semelhança do que acontece em análise de drogas de abuso (Cone, 2001;Fucci, 2001). O sangue devido a questões de ordem religiosa e por necessitar uma coleta invasiva, não vem sendo muito utilizado, com exceção do teste para a epoetina (Browne et al, 1999 quido-líquido (Breo, 1990;Audran et al, 1999;Birkland, Hemmersbach, 1999;Bôer et al, 1999;Krafft, 2001). Saliva ou suor não são matrizes de escolha para as novas substâncias (Schraman et al;, Cone, 1993) (Tabelas I e II).…”

Optical Coherent Tomography for in vivo Determination of Changes in Hair Cross Section and Diameter during Treatment with Glucocorticosteroids – A Simple Method to Screen for Doping Substances?

“…The total costs for doping checks during the Olympic Games or World Championships are between USD 500,000 and 2,000,000 [20][21][22] .…”