Blood Doping

Blood Doping

Blood doping as a practice is common among the sportspeople and individuals engaged in strenuous physical activities that require sufficient oxygen flow in their blood to sustain them during the whole period. It is, therefore, a practice through which a person uses drugs to multiply the number of red blood cells in the body to produce enough oxygen in the muscles. It has been a common trend among the athletes, which never stops for almost now half a century. However, blood doping is not encouraged, and athletes who tested positive for blood doping are usually burned from the field for specific periods or medals won stripped off. Either way, blood doping is a common practice in modern society because it does not require a lot of specialization; performed easily, but produces tremendous results.

Blood doping is not new in society but often takes place since it is hard to detect a person who has undergone blood doping. There also exists no ‘direct tests’ for blood doping (Lundby, Robach & Saltin, 2012). The current testing procedure for blood doping is based on “recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEpo),” which is difficult to prove under the testing procedures (Lundby, Robach & Saltin, 2012). “The World Anti-Doping Agency,” also known as WADA, has come up with various control measures to minimize doping cases, mostly among the athletes (Lundby, Robach & Saltin, 2012).  The WADA agency has formulated biological markers of all athletes against all kinds of blood doping. Therefore, all athletes are tested against this forum. Unfortunately, such an approach though, had high hopes for ending doping practices demonstrate low detecting levels.

Blood doping has always been considered an evil act. However, it has several advantages that encourage the practice. Doping is done with a wide range of drugs, including stimulants. Most doping cases increase the levels of testosterone in the blood for men. Therefore such is advantageous as increased levels impact the body by causing an increase in the number of red blood cells, which in turn spur up the supply of oxygen in the muscles. The higher the levels of testosterone also encourages an increase in the mass of body muscles providing a general feeling of well-being (Frank, 2015).

Doping triggers many questions regarding ethics, especially in sports, as it is potentially regarded as cheating to achieve results. Doping, therefore, has the ultimate fate of increasing red blood cells flow in the body. During physical activities, erythrocytes flow in the muscles from where they produce oxygen to sustain muscle activity. Therefore as the body engages more in physical ability, it needs more blood supply rich in red blood cells for adequate oxygen supply. However, sometimes an individual who lacks enough red blood cell supply, consider enhancement by blood doping so that the body can meet the high demand for red blood cells (Frank, 2015). Although doping has various advantages, there are serious health side-effects that doping causes to the body. Human nature is prone to competition just as it is in athletics. Therefore, people will do anything it takes to become the best regardless of the potential risks associated with practices such as blood doping, which causes the body imbalance due to increased hormonal imbalance.

Some of the risky aspects of blood doping include; blood clots due to thickened blood, high pressure of blood flow, which might cause stroke, or lead to heart damage through constant heart attack, failing body organs, and increased hormonal imbalance. Therefore, such risks might affect the sportsmanship vigorously, compromising the physical spirit again. It is, therefore, encouraged that athletes practice lifestyles that generally improve their health like exercising regularly, training, and having a balanced diet.

Moreover, there are other disadvantages associated with blood doping that have serious side effects on the users, although blood clots are one of the most dangerous risk factors of blood doping. Increasing the number of erythrocytes in the body increases the viscosity of blood that makes the blood heavy to flow than the healthy blood. The reduced flow of blood in the body is because of increased blood count, making it hard for the blood to flow effectively. Therefore, an individual is exposed to heart problems as the low blood flow leads to a low heart rate (Nelson, 2013). Circulation of blood in the body gets much slower and can cause a heart attack or even stroke when extreme. Blood clots form quickly, making it hard for blood to flow in the blood vessels efficiently. Such clots can also enlarged veins and arteries that enhance blood flow.

‘Sludging’ of blood in the body is not a smooth experience as it leads to being uncomfortable (Nelson, 2013). Therefore a person might be required to jump continuously to avoid blood clumping and increase the blood flow at any time of the day the body feels that way, even if it is at night. In extreme circumstances, a person might die in his or her sleep since blood flow keeps the human body alive, and when compromised in any way, the effects are adverse.

In the years to come, blood doping might be archaic due to developed genetics. Oxygen will be genetically produced by imparting EPO genes to monkeys. However, it is feared that the body might be able to reject the EPO oxygen by fighting it vigorously through the body hormones just the same as how it happens to a virus in the body (Nelson, 2013). The ultimate result will be death due to anemia. However, when the gene is given an on and off switch, it is possible to create red blood cells that last for the entire lifetime with little to no wearing off, thus proving endurance for high and strenuous physical activities.

In conclusion, blood doping is not today’s case but an existing case of many years, and common among the athletes. It is done to boost the number of basal erythrocytes, which cause an increase in oxygen supply to the body muscles. Most people supplement blood doping with exercise to endure strenuous activities. However, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages, and so, people should focus entirely on practicing proper lifestyle aspects such as adequate exercising and healthy eating instead of the use of drugs to boost blood flow.

References.

Frank, J. (2015). Advantages and Health Risks Associated with Doping in Sports. Retrieved 20 March 2020, from https://intermountainhealthcare.org/blogs/topics/sports-medicine/2015/08/advantages-health-risks-doping-sports/

Lundby, C., Robach, P., & Saltin, B. (2012). The evolving science of detection of ‘blood doping.’ British Journal of Pharmacology, 165(5), 1306-1315. doi: 10.1111/j.1476-5381.2011.01822.x

Nelson, T. (2013). What Are the Dangers of Blood Doping? Retrieved 20 March 2020, from https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/50791/what-are-dangers-blood-doping.