Ottawa – July 17, 2025 – The Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) is set to begin using dried blood spot (DBS) testing this summer as an additional method to detect the use of prohibited substances.
The CCES will use a Health Canada-approved Tasso device to collect a small blood sample from an athlete’s upper arm. The device makes a small skin puncture, then the blood is absorbed by filter paper cards in pods that are housed in the Tasso device, which is sealed securely and sent to a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)-accredited lab for analysis.
DBS testing is complementary to venous blood and urine testing and will not replace either method. The three sample types are used to test for different substances and athletes won’t be given the choice of collection method.
Athletes and support personnel should be familiar with the differences between DBS and venous blood sample collection:
- A venous blood sample must be collected by a certified blood collection officer, whereas DBS can be collected by a doping control officer because it does not involve venipuncture.
- DBS is minimally invasive because it involves a small upper-arm puncture, and the collection needle is smaller.
- The volume of blood collected with DBS is approximately 25 times less than a venous blood draw.
- DBS doesn’t require a 10-minute waiting period prior to sample collection.
- DBS samples don’t require temperature control during transportation, so it can be used to collect samples in remote areas.
DBS is well-established in fields such as newborn screening tests, but the application to anti-doping is relatively new. It was approved by WADA in 2021, some elements of the DBS process were implemented at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and it was fully implemented at the Beijing 2022 and Paris 2024 Games.
Access more information and new DBS resources.
Questions? Contact the CCES
- Email: [email protected]
- Call toll free: 1-800-672-7775
About the CCES
The CCES is an independent, national, not-for profit organization that works to protect the integrity of and manage unethical issues in Canadian sport. Through the administration of its programs, including the Canadian Anti-Doping Program and the Canadian Safe Sport Program, the CCES strives to ensure sport is safe, inclusive, fair, clean, and accessible for all Canadians. The CCES acknowledges funding, in part, from the Government of Canada. For more information, visit cces.ca, follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, or X.