Testing and Investigations : World Anti-Doping Code International standard / World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). - Montreal : WADA, 2016. - (International Standard Testing and Investigations (ISTI) effective on 1 January 2017)
The International Standard for Testing (IST) was first adopted in 2003 and came into effect 1 January 2004. A revised IST was approved in 2008, and came into effect 1 January 2 09; a further revised IST was approved in 2011 and came into effect 1 January 2012. The ISTI, renamed the International Standard for Testing and Investigations (ISTI), was approved at the World Conference on Doping in Sport in Johannesburg by the WADA Executive Committee on 15 November 2013 and came into effect on 1 January 2015. This version of the ISTI incorporates further revisions approved May 2016, and is taking effect January 2017.
The main modification in the 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.
