World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) President Witold Bańka said the dried blood spot (DBS) testing, first put in official use at the Beijing Olympic Winter Games, is an exciting development for anti-doping.
Bańka added this innovative testing method, which only takes a few drops of blood from the athlete's fingertip to dry on a blotting paper for scientists to analyse certain substances, carries several advantages over traditional forms.
"It's a practice easier to collect, transport and store the samples with additional benefits," said Banka.
The method, jointly developed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), WADA, the International Testing Agency (ITA), National Anti-Doping Organisations in Australia, China, Japan, Switzerland and the United States, was used at last year's Tokyo Olympics for trials and will make its formal appearance at Beijing 2022.
" It is easier to store as well and is cheaper to do. This means there will also be a possibility to do more tests” said Olivier Niggli, the WADA director general.
"It will not replace what is already existing, but it will come on top.”
WADA has advised athletes to exercise caution regarding potentially contaminated meat in the country, which has been known to contain low levels of the steroid clenbuterol.
WADA will be delivering a webinar on dried blood testing for athletes on Thursday 24th February. For details, please click here.
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