The World Anti-Doping Agency is pleased to provide a revised version of the International Standard for Testing and Investigations (ISTI) that will take effect 1 January 2017; as well as, complementary Athlete Biological Passport Guidelines and Blood Collection Guidelines – both that have been updated to reflect the revised ISTI. All three documents were approved by WADA’s Executive Committee in May 2016.

A summary of the main revisions to each document can be found below:

International Standard for Testing and Investigations (ISTI)

• With the ABP now an integral part of any robust anti-doping program, the previous ‘stand-alone’ technical documents have been updated to reflect current requirements and best practice, and incorporated into the ISTI as Annexes to the Standard.  This includes mandatory requirements for the collection and transport of ABP blood samples (previously TD2015BSCR and TD2015BSTR), as well as the review of atypical passports and results management of ABP cases (previously TD2016RMR).
• Requirements for establishing an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) based on the ABP have been altered to clarify the process by which an Atypical Passport Finding (ATPF) is triggered and subsequently reviewed by both the Athlete Passport Management Unit (APMU) and relevant experts.
• A limitation in the delivery of effective ABP programs has been the practical constraint of collecting biological samples in remote locations or on weekends and transporting them to WADA accredited or approved laboratories within the required 36 hour timeframe. The ISTI introduces the concept of a ‘Blood Stability Score’ (BSS) which can extend the permitted transport period to 60 hours when samples are transported under optimal conditions. The ISTI sets out the practical requirements to adopt the BSS and consequently benefit from extended transportation windows. Further correspondence on the BSS will be sent out shortly to Anti-Doping Organizations who have implemented the haematological ABP as well as WADA Accredited Laboratories.

Athlete Biological Passport Guidelines

• The ABP Guidelines were updated to reflect changes to the ISTI, as well as the TD2016EAAS, TD2016IRMS, and TD2017BAR.
• Greater clarity on the roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders involved in running an ABP program is provided, most notably the role of the APMU.
• A greater emphasis is put on the central role of the APMU report in passport management, with specific recommendations for the content of the APMU report.

Blood Collection Guidelines
• In addition to being updated to reflect changes to the ABP processes, these guidelines now provide greater clarity regarding the required equipment and transport conditions for different types of blood analysis.

• This media release was originally published by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on 9 September 2016. To access the original, please click here.