Athlete Biological Passport
Athlete Biological Passport
What is the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP)?
The term “athlete biological passport” was first proposed in the early 2000s by the scientific community when monitoring of select haematological variables (markers of blood doping) was identified as a means to define an individual’s haematological profile.
In conjunction with several stakeholders and medical experts, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) began to further develop, harmonise, and validate this concept. The ABP is a collation of all relevant biologicals data unique to an individual Athlete, thus facilitate exchange of information and mutual recognition of data’s and, consequently, help to the fight against doping.
IBSA continues to integrate the ABP properly and successfully into its overall program by weighing all factors including the required resources and capacity to operate such an extensive program. IBSA strongly intends to continue to build its ABP database throughout the coming years, to use it to complement all its other anti-doping initiatives effectively and efficiently, and to pursue any apparent Anti-Doping Rules Violations (ADRV) arising from them.
The ABP consists of collecting data about two modules:
- The Haematological Profile.
- The Steroidal Profile.
The haematological profile collects information on markers of blood doping. It aims to identify the use of prohibited substances and/or prohibited methods for the enhancement of oxygen transport of delivery, including the use of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) and any form of blood transfusion or manipulation.
The steroidal profile collects information on markers of steroid doping. It aims to identify endogenous anabolic androgenic steroids when administrated exogenously and other anabolic agents. It is also an effective means to identity samples which may have been tampered with or exchanged with the urine of another individual.
The ABP is built on the monitoring over time of an athlete, in the goal to select biological variables that indirectly reveals the effects of doping. It is a complementary means with the tests made in competition and out of competition. Indeed, the ABP can notably be used as a complement to analytical methods to further refine and strengthen overall anti-doping strategies.
Through changes in biological markers of doping collated over an athlete’s career, the ABP can be used to establish the use of a prohibited substance and/or prohibited methods without necessarily relying on the detection of a particular prohibited substance or prohibited method.