Blood Doping Research Paper

Submitted By lizardfrog123
Words: 388
Pages: 2

Blood Doping In my opinion, blood doping should not be legal because of the effects it has on the body. Blood doping is fairly new idea to athletes; it is replacing the use of steroids. Blood doping is the practice of boosting the number of red blood cells in the blood stream to enhance athletic performance. Doing this brings more oxygen into the muscles. Some athletes do the blood doping to increase stamina. There are three main types of blood doping. They are: blood transfusions, injections of erythropoietin (EPO), and injections of synthetic oxygen carriers. There are two types of blood transfusions: autologous transfusion and homologous transfusion. Autologous transfusions are when a person’s own blood is taken and stored for future use. Homologous transfusion is when a transfusion is performed using someone else’s blood that has the same type. EPO is a hormone produced by the kidney and it regulates the red blood cells. I do think that blood doping should be illegal because it is putting more red blood cells into the body than it would typically make. Since steroids and drugs are illegal for athletes to use, this should be also. The worrisome part of blood doping is that a doctor or nurse must perform the task. This means that they are not being honest and they are taking advantage of their position as a licensed doctor or nurse. The effects of blood doping are extremely dangerous. When the red blood cells are increased, this makes the blood thicker,