Through this procedure it was possible to increase the number of red blood cells, ensuring a greater availability of oxygen to the muscles. Thanks to this property, the autoemotransfusion was able to significantly increase the performance level of the athlete.
Its doping effects are based on physiological assumptions similar to those of EPO, hypo-oxygenated tents and high-altitude training.
"Self-blood transfusion is part of the so-called" blood doping or emodoping ", which includes various doping techniques. In the world of sport it is considered an illegal practice, as it is solely aimed at artificially increasing sports performance.
Homologous blood doping is based on the "use of blood from" another person (donor), just as traditionally occurs in hospitals.
The second technique is represented by the so-called autologous blood doping (autohemotransfusion). About a month before the competition, an average of 700-900 ml of blood are extracted from the same subject, which are then stored at + 4 ° C and put back into circulation one or two days before the competitive engagement. Following the transfusion, a sudden improvement of aerobic capacity and performance in endurance tests (cycling, marathon, endurance swimming, triathlon, Nordic skiing, etc.), guaranteed by an increase in erythrocyte mass up to 15-20%. Self-blood transfusion, on the other hand, does not bring benefits significant to athletes engaged in anaerobic disciplines (weight lifting, jumping and sprinting competitions, shot put, etc.). As an alternative to refrigeration, which requires a maximum storage period of 35-42 days, the blood taken by the athlete can be frozen at -65 ° C in glycerol, then stored for 10 years with suitable equipment. This allows to avoid a withdrawal too close to the moment of the competition, a period in which the athlete is engaged in training that would be compromised by the drop in performance associated with the withdrawal. In practice, the athlete now has the opportunity to pre-deposit his blood even years before the race.
The self-blood transfusion technique is also used in medical practice, for example in preparation for major surgery.
plasma from eight to 15%). After the transfusion, the athlete is thus able to increase his performance by 5 to 10%.
After the initial sampling, the body takes about 6 weeks to bring the hemoglobin levels back to normal.
Compared to this method, self-blood transfusion also neutralizes the risk of contagion (AIDS; hepatitis, etc.) and avoids reactions from incompatible blood.
However, self-blood transfusion is not without side effects: first of all, the athlete accuses a decreased performance in training in the days following the sampling and the risk of blood clots forming after re-inoculation (heart attack, embolism, stroke) is not negligible.
In addition, self-blood transfusion introduces important quantities of iron into the body, with the risk that these compromise the functionality of the storage organs (liver, spleen, pancreas and kidneys), already tested by intense physical activity.
Although anti-doping tests have been developed potentially capable of detecting self-blood transfusion, the simplest and most effective fight against this phenomenon, and against blood doping in general, derives from the periodic and mandatory monitoring of hemoglobin, hematocrit, red blood cells and reticulocytes levels in the blood of the athlete (biological passport). Significant differences in these values between one measurement and another (eg> 13-16% for hemoglobin) cannot be due to a physiological variation, and are therefore a sign of doping practices or diseases in progress. On the basis of these data, an athlete, even in the absence of traces of doping products in the doping test, can still be considered positive when significant changes in his haematological parameters emerge compared to the history reported in his biological passport. In case of suspicious values, but not sufficient from a statistical point of view to declare positivity with presumable certainty, the athlete is subjected to specific anti-doping controls and closer monitoring.
