Stem Cell Doping

930 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Performance enhancing drugs within sports

The term “doping” is often used to describe an athlete that is using performance enhancing drugs to have an edge over the competition. Primarily banned due to the countless side-effects that outweigh their purpose, performance enhancing drugs are foreign chemicals that change the way the body operates naturally. Stem Cell medicine however, has become a controversial topic in the world of sports medicine because it is the first method that does not introduce foreign material to the body, and it also does not change the way the body functions naturally. As technology advances the definition of what is considered cheating must be reevaluated. Stem Cell treatment should not be categorized alongside harmful drugs such as anabolic steroids, stimulants, gene doping or peptide hormones.

There is much confusion behind the different types of “doping” when it comes to the manipulation of cells and DNA. The International Olympic Committee as well as WADA, World Anti-Doping Agency has set a clear standard on what is to be considered an illegal drug or illegal act of performance enhancement; however they have not stated clearly why stem cells are part of this standard. Instead both WADA and the International Olympic Committee have sanctioned all treatments involving genetic technology unethical. Gene or Cell doping is defined by these agencies as “the non-therapeutic use of genes, genetic elements and or cells that have the capacity to enhance athletic performance.” What degree of enhancing is considered cheating when it comes to the body’s natural processes? These are the types of questions that need to be answered when it comes to these new medical discoveries. “The root of the difficulties that the anti-doping campaign has to wrestle ...

... middle of paper ...

...ent that promotes healing, allows natural bodily functions and has limited side effects could reduce the amount of cheating in all areas of competitive sports as well as prolong the careers of promising athletes.

Works Cited

Møller, Verner. The Ethics of Doping and Anti-Doping: Redeeming the Soul of Sport?Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2009. Print.

Carr, Craig. Fairness and Performance Enhancement in Sports. Journal of the Philosophy of sport; 2008, Vol. 35 Issue 2, p193-207, 15p. Academic Search Premier. 29 May 2011.

McCann, Michael. “Bartolo Colon's Stem Cell Surgery: Sports Medicine or Cheating?” 12 May 2011. Web. 24 May 2011.

Pennington, B. (2007, Mar 29). For athletes, the next fountain of youth? New York Times, pp.

Academic Search Premier EBSCO. Web. 25 May 2011.

“The World Anti-Doping Code”. World Anti-Doping Agency. Web. 25may2011.

Show More
Related

  • Introduction To The Philosophy Of Sport Heather Reid Summary

    409 Words  | 1 Pages

    In Introduction to the Philosophy of Sport, Heather L. Reid presents a discussion of how ethics is treated in the arena of Olympism and some of the struggles of defining and how or if the ethical guidelines should be enforced. Reid notes, “Some would say that ethical principles are always the product of a particular culture, so there can no more be universal ethical principles than there can be a universal culture” (Reid, 22). I disagree with the notion that there cannot be universal ethical principles for athletes to follow in sport because even across cultures there are general morals that shape the lives of people from all over the world. For example, murder and cheating are inherently immoral actions, no matter where someone comes from;

    Read More

  • And May The Best Cheater Win, by Harry Bruce

    802 Words  | 2 Pages

    Can cheating be an excuse for the phrase; survival of the fittest, or is it an epidemic moral corruption? Since the advent of modern competitive sport, winning has always been the bottom line. Honesty, honour and fair play have taken the backseat. The purpose of the essay May The Best Cheater Win, by Harry Bruce, is to inform how cheating has become widespread and accepted in America. Sports are an integral part of American culture and indeed an entire industry exists because of these competitive sports. The result of these competitive sports has led to the moral corruption of most athletes, as they would do anything to win. Harry Bruce discusses the distortion of right and wrong that has penetrated all levels of sports, from children's league to regional division. He confidently informs his reader that organized sports not only "offer benefits to youngsters" but "they also offer a massive program of moral corruption".

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Prosthetics In Sports

    1731 Words  | 4 Pages

    Trivino claims gene doping is the main purpose is to improve the physical performance of athletes. Gene doping is on the list of banned substances, it is in the same category as anabolic steroids. Gene doping is an unfair way for an athlete to physically perform better because they don 't have to work as hard as other that work their butts off to be able to perform at that level. It is very similar to anabolic steroids because the use of the steroids gives that person a greater amount of strength without working for it. Not only does gene doping gives the athlete an unfair advantage to their physical abilities, but also has many cons that could put the individual 's health at risk. Wells states, “Risks associated with gene doping fall into two main areas. Firstly, the product and the procedures for delivery of the product carry risks. Secondly, the uncontrolled expression of the genes may in themselves be harmful” (627). Wells believes, that gene doping can be harmful and has many unknown risks on the effects gene doping will have on an individual 's body. I believe that gene doping shouldn 't be

    Read More

  • Professional Athletes: The End of "Roid Rage"

    876 Words  | 2 Pages

    Professional athletes, throughout history, have been exalted for their outstanding abilities and achievements in sports. Unfortunately, many athletes have turned to anabolic steroids in order to give them an edge, a boost their athletic performance. Starting with the 1954 World Weightlifting Championships, where the Soviets unexpectedly dominated their lifting classes with the use of steroids, it has become increasingly popular among athletes to cheat with the help of this drug. Although the appeal to steroid use is evident when observing how it increases someone’s athletic abilities, many users fail to consider the detrimental side effects of the drug. Also, in my opinion, athletes should be expected to perform based upon their natural abilities, opposed to abilities enhanced by anabolic steroids. Ultimately, anabolic steroids should continue to be illegal in professional sports due to their major health risks and the unfair advantage they serve players.

    Read More

  • Performance Enhancing Drugs: Steroids

    1672 Words  | 4 Pages

    The problems with performance enhancing drugs are that they give the user unfair advantages over other athletes and come with many health risks such as baldness. Steroid use can result in very substantial legal consequences and can ruin the user’s reputation. There are many alternatives to steroids but not all of them are safe. Different organizations have different rules on steroids, but in most cases, the user can get suspended, fined, or even both. Various types of steroids can have various short-term or long-term side effects. There are several types of steroids, the most popular ones being anabolic steroids. Historically, steroids have been around for many years, but the debate surrounding them started recently, more specifically a few decades ago. An important term to know is anabolic steroids which are made to work with the user’s muscle mass. Another term to know is clarified by Ida Walker, author of the book, Steroids: Pumped Up and Dangerous, published by Mason Crest Publishers in 2008, defines, peliosis hepatis is a rare condition in which cysts filled with blood form in the liver, if the cysts were to pop then internal bleeding would occur. A positive argument about steroids is stated by Adrianne Blue, author of the essay, “Performance Enhancing Drugs Should Be Legal,” published in the book Athletes and Drug Use, published in 2009, disputes, “Blue concludes that legalizing performance- enhancing drugs can protect athletes from dangerously abusing them.” The utilization of performance enhancing drugs has left a giant scar on sports and has compromised the achievements of many athletes; therefore, they are transforming the sports world into a drug filled world.

    Read More

  • Athletes and Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports

    4514 Words  | 10 Pages

    Abstract: Since the beginning of sports competition, athletes have always looked for some kind of edge over their competitors. They will do whatever it takes to be one of the elite, and that includes injecting supplements into their bodies to make them bigger, stronger, and faster. Steroid use is probably one of the most common drug misuses in sports competition. Athletes found that with anabolic steroids, one could become a better athlete twice as fast. Not until 1975 was the drug first banned from Olympic competition because of the health risks it produced.

    Read More

  • Stem Cell Research

    1691 Words  | 4 Pages

    Dr. Farouk Mahmoud; Conversations: ethics, science, stem cells. EuroStemCell. Youtube, 2013. Youtube. Web. 9 Dec 2013.

    Read More

  • Steroids Essay

    655 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...ther competitions, by wrong and unjust means. And consequently, the sports commissioner s of all the sports have to ensure that the players in a particular sport are not using steroids or any other similar drugs, and for that they often have to direct the medical staff in a particular sport to check the athletes, that whether they are using steroids or any other similar drugs. And in case, if steroids are located in their bodies, then the sports commissioners have to conduct thorough investigation, which eventually, results in unique unprecedented punishments for such athletes. Therefore, it s extremity imperative for these Professional athletes to realize the fact that they are the current role models for the future athletes, and can quite significantly influence the young athletes, all over the world, through any sort of misconduct on their part (Haupt & Rovere,

    Read More

  • Social Class Influence on Sports Participation

    1155 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jarvie, G. (2012). Sport, Social Division and Social Inequality. Sport Science Review. 20 (1-2), 95–109.

    Read More

  • Stem Cell Research

    2602 Words  | 6 Pages

    One of the most spoken of topic in the past four decades, are the advancements in genetic engineering. Stem cells were discovered in the mid-1800s and the subject of experimentation in the early 1900s, it’s only been in recent decades that they’ve truly caught the imagination of medical researchers and the public. Today, our understanding of these cells is expanding dramatically, and research has proliferated, as their potential is becoming clearer and clearer. Research into stem cells grew out of findings by Ernest A. McCulloch and James E. Till at the University of Toronto in the 1960s. “And the remarkable thing about the discovery itself is that we’re just starting to realize the potential of stem cells for medicine. In the 1960s, scientists recognized that Drs. Till and McCulloch’s discovery was important, but I don’t think anyone could have imagined that more than 45 years down the road their work would still be laying the basis for new ideas, new strategies, even new research institutes built around the concept of stem cells.” says Dr. Bob Phillips, Deputy Director of OICR and a former colleague of Till and McCulloch’s at the Ontario Cancer Institute.”[4]

    Read More

  • Creatine Use Must be Banned

    1924 Words  | 4 Pages

    Athletes are always searching for ways to enhance their performance. Recently, beginning in the 1950s, that search has included the use of illegal substances like steroids and growth hormones. Illegal substances have been used widely by athletes in hop es of achieving the desired Olympic gold medal or multi-million dollar contract. Some nations, for example the late East Germany in the 1970s and 1980s, have mandated the use of steroids by their athletes. The downside of using those illegal substances is that because they are illegal, getting caught using them can lead to losing that coveted gold medal, a lifetime ban from sports, and a total loss of honor and dignity. This is why the search is now on to find some legal means of enhancing athletic per formance.

    Read More

  • Should Performance Enhancing Drugs Be Legalized In Professional Sports?

    1288 Words  | 3 Pages

    ..., Kjetil K. "Why We Shouldn’t Allow Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sport." Academia.edu. Academia.edu, 1 Apr. 2011. Web. 06 Jan. 2014. .

    Read More

  • Cheating in Sports

    1409 Words  | 3 Pages

    Drug use in sports is considered cheating. Doping has many historical backgrounds, but now it is on a larger scale in order to maximiz...

    Read More

  • Doping, Athletes and Sports

    905 Words  | 2 Pages

    Doping is a practice that has been going on since the time of "ancient Greek athletes, who supposedly ate herbs, sesame seeds, dried figs, and mushrooms for this purpose" (Hoberman, 1992, 104). Likewise, athletes have readily consumed such drugs as caffeine and alcohol to improve performa...

    Read More

  • Doping In Sports Essay

    1475 Words  | 3 Pages

    The usage of performance-enhancing drugs in sports is commonly known as Doping. Doping is banned worldwide in every sports administration and competitions and doping gives an unfair advantage to those using illegal substances, such as steroids to boost their performance. It also puts at stake the integrity of those athletes who do not use performance-enhancing drugs also known as “clean” athletes. In fact it seems that we’re now entering the era of performance-enhancing drugs within professional sports. Doping rids the true athletes of what they truly deserve and is wrong; because why should those who put in a hundred per cent of their effort, be outshone by individuals who are choosing to use substances to enhance their physical and mental abilities? Doping damages the sports industry as a whole because it has a serious physical and mental effects on the athletes, as well as damaging the idea of sportsmanship and it also breaks the trust of the fans, as they realise their idols are hypocrites.

    Read More

More about Stem Cell Doping

Open Document