Are They Bloody Guilty? Blood Doping with Simulated Samples

In this practice-based lab, students are provided with four Olympic athlete profiles and simulated blood and urine samples to test for illegal substances and blood-doping practices. Throughout the course of the lab, students design and conduct a testing procedure and use their results to determine which athletes won their medals fairly. All of the materials, which simulate the blood, urine, and testing compounds, are available at the grocery store. This real-world problem engages students to think about blood doping, hormones associated with red-blood-cell production, and detection techniques employed by the World Anti-Doping Agency. The Olympics, as well as the news coverage of Lance Armstrong’s admission to blood doping in 2013, makes this lab more relevant to students’ lives, which is supported by our students’ reactions to the lab.