Discuss Training at Higher Altitudes, Blood Doping

Side effects of blood doping
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Blood doping
Cases of blood doping have been on the rise in the sports field all over the world, with a big number of athletes, cyclists and other sports people being accused of this vice. Blood doping involves the use of certain substances such as erythropoietin (EPO), synthetic oxygen carriers and blood transfusions to increase one’s red blood cell mass, which then enables the body to transport more oxygen to muscles and result in high stamina and performance (World Anti-doping Agency, 2015). Most people use it to gain a competitive age over others in sports. However, the wrong use of these substances have very dangerous side effects and can lead to serious health risks. The increase of blood volume in the body as a result of blood doping can result to high blood pressure. Research has shown that high intake of EPO can cause an increase in the risk of blood clots since it induces hypertension in the user. This can also lead to heart attacks, stroke or cause sharp pain known as angina (Pound, 2010).
Blood doping through blood transfusion poses the risk of transmission of infectious diseases such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and viral hepatitis if the blood is not thoroughly screened (World Anti-doping Agency, 2015). The recipient of the blood may also experience blood type incompatibility, transfusion-related acute lung injury or other minor transfusion reactions such as fever and body aches. Injection of erythropoietin in the body causes a rise in the percentage of red blood cells in the blood (Boyer, 2011). If done in high doses, it can result in a condition known as polycythemia, which basically means thickening of the blood, which causes decreased blood flow, thus increasing the risk of suffering stroke, pulmonary embolism or vein thrombosis in the legs (B...