In this essay we will discuss performance enhancing drugs but I´m going to focus more on doping through blood transfusion, athletes use this process because it boosts the number of red blood cells in the bloodstream and it gets the athlete more exited and he is able to give a better performance in the sport. There are a couple of sports the used doping blood transfusions but it was most used in cycling, there are a couple of examples of of cyclists the used this method of doping like: Lasse Virén which used blood transfusions to win the Montreal Olympics in 1972 and 1976, there was also Francesco Moser which broke Eddie Merckx`s Hour record in 1984 with the help of blood transfusion and there was also an US cycling squad which broke a seventy-two medal drought again with the aid of blood transfusions. .
With these examples we can observe the method of blood transfusion is a very effective method to win and to cheat because it is unfair to the other cyclists if you have an unfair advantage which ables him to have more success with is career and the prizes he wins won´t mean anything. .
The first scientific studies to highlight the possible sporting benefits of transfusions appeared after the end of World War II. These studies were not aimed actually at sportsmen but they would come out of WW2 and were trying to combat hypoxia. In 1945, Pace et al published their first paper called "The Effect of Transfusions of Red Blood Cells on the Hypoxia Tolerance of Normal Men" which was followed by another in 1947, "The increase in Hypoxia Tolerance of Normal Men Accompanying the Polycythemia Induced by Transfusion. In both studies Pace and is team were able to demonstrate a significant increase in endurance post-tranfusion. As the 70s progress competing scientific papers appeared, each offering different opinions and often contradictory, there are a lot of different views on the effectiveness of the blood transfusion method in a sporting environment.
