ABSTRACT
Gene transfer technology offers enormous promise. It is expected that gene transfer technology will revolutionize the way we view illness and health and that gene transfer technology will transform the way we treat and prevent disease. If the social impact of gene transfer technology is likely to be unprecedented, its effect on sport will be just as momentous. Some of the predictions for the effect of the genetic revolution have been grave. The human genome has been called the book of life, the repository of all that is human. Deciphering that book of life is taken to offer the key to wonderful new genetic treatments and technologies that can transform the way we think of illness and treatment, and the normal limits of life itself. Going further, understanding – and then being able to manipulate – human genetics offers the prospect of specifically designing human beings to have particular aptitudes and characteristics. But because all current work on gene transfer technology is in the research stage, its potential impact is as yet unknown. The imminent applications to sport performance include muscle growth factors and oxygen transport and utilization. The World Anti-Doping Agency was well aware of these potential applications to sport when it hosted the Banbury Workshop on Genetic Enhancement of Athletic Performance at the Banbury Center, Cold Spring Harbour Laboratory, New York from 17-20 March 2002. This workshop brought together international experts and leaders in biology and genetics, sports medicine, ethicists, policy-makers, legal experts, representatives of the Olympic Movement and athletes to explore the science, technology, and ethical issues facing the sports community as a consequence of gene transfer technology.
