The Biological Passport

• Published in: The Hastings Center report Vol. 40; no. 2; pp. 18 - 19
• Main Author: GILBERT, SUSAN
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-03-2010; The Hastings Center; Hastings Center
• Subjects: Anabolic Agents - administration & dosage; Athletes; Athletes, Conduct of life; Athletes, Drug use; Bicycling - ethics; Bioethics; Blood; Blood & organ donations; Competitive Behavior - ethics; Doping; Doping in sports; Doping in Sports - ethics; Doping in Sports - trends; Drugs & sports; Drugs and athletes; Epics; Erythropoietin - administration & dosage; Essays; False negative errors; Federations; Female; Government regulation; Humans; Laws, regulations and rules; Male; Muscle Strength - drug effects; Olympic games; Oxygen; Passports; Skating - ethics; Speed skating; Sports; Sports - ethics; Sports, Corrupt practices; Steroids; Substance Abuse Detection; Swimming - ethics; U.S. Anti-Doping Agency; World Anti-Doping Agency; United States
• ISSN: 0093-0334; 1552-146X; 1552-146X
• DOI: 10.1353/hcr.0.0235

Another loophole is that banned substances, for a variety of reasons, are sometimes impossible to detect: they can be designed to elude specific tests, new substances can be made for which there are no tests, and a genetic trait - missing copies of a gene called UGT2B17, which makes testosterone soluble in urine - renders testosterone doping invisible to conventional urine tests. A handful of sports federations have used die biological passport on a trial basis, but it is becoming more widespread because the World Anti-Doping Agency, which leads the international effort against banned sports enhancement, just released guidelines on its use.