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Sample matrices , Blood

المؤلف:  Sue Jickells , Adam Negrusz (Editors)

المصدر:  Clarkes Analytical Forensic Toxicology

الجزء والصفحة:  272

2026-10-24

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Sample matrices

Blood

The principal advantage of a blood sample is that its integrity is easier to safeguard because, usually, it is collected by a doctor or veterinary surgeon experienced in the procedure. In addition, drug concentrations in blood are interpreted more easily than those in urine, and certain drugs that are not excreted in urine in detectable quantities (e.g. reserpine, or human growth hormone) can be detected in blood. In horseracing testing, blood (serum or plasma) is routinely used to determine TCO₂ (total carbon dioxide) level as well as phenylbutazone and/or oxyphenylbutazone and furosemide concentrations. The only disadvantage of blood is the relatively low volume which can be reasonably collected from a human or an animal to perform all necessary tests. Blood is rarely collected from the greyhound because of the relative ease of urine sampling. In humans, blood is now being collected routinely by some federations (e.g. the International Cycling Union) as a ‘health check’. Any competitor whose haematocrit is above 50% is not permitted to compete. This test is intended to limit the use of EPO to stimulate red cell production. However, this test is readily circumvented and depends on too many factors; the use of haemoglobin concentration is preferred. Furthermore, blood samples are also collected for more sophisticated tests to indicate the use of EPO. WADA publish guidelines for sampling blood, with whole blood sampled for detection of blood transfusion and serum for detection of human growth hormone (hGH) and haemo globin-based oxygen carriers (HBOCs), for example (WADA 2006a). Blood is sampled increasingly in horseracing in much of Europe as a second choice when urine is not obtainable and as the body fluid of choice for pre-race and testing in training samples.