WADA publishes revised 2026 International Standard for Testing and Investigations with changes to blood collection wait times for Athletes

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is pleased to publish the revised International Standard for Testing and Investigations (ISTI) that was approved by WADA’s Executive Committee (ExCo) on 2 December 2025 and will enter into force on 1 April 2026.  

Following recommendations by WADA’s Haematological Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) Working Group and discussions with the 2027 International Standard for Testing (IST) Drafting Team and the Strategic Testing Expert Advisory Group (STEAG), the wait time for athletes providing a blood sample for the Hematological Module of the ABP after any physical activity (e.g., training or competition) is reduced from two hours to 60 minutes.  

Given that the reduction in wait time is a significant improvement for both athletes and Sample Collection Authorities, the ExCo approved the integration of these changes to the 2026 ISTI rather than waiting for the 2027 International Standard for Testing to take effect.  

In addition, the new 60-minute wait time following any physical activity will also apply to all blood samples collected in a serum tube that will be analyzed for substances such as growth hormone, erythropoietin receptor agonists (ERAs), and other modules of the ABP. To accommodate these changes, the WADA ‘ABP Supplementary Report Form’ is replaced by the ‘Blood Collection Supplementary Report Form.’ It should be clarified that the 60-minute wait does not apply if the athlete did not train or compete prior to the sample collection, and/or to whole blood samples collected in EDTA tubes that will not be analyzed for the Hematological Module of the ABP. 

Finally, changes have also been made to the mandatory questions that athletes are asked when providing a blood sample for the Hematological Module of the ABP.  

A detailed summary of modifications to the 2026 ISTI can be found here and the redlined version of the 2026 ISTI can be found here.   

Should you have any questions or comments regarding the 2026 ISTI, we invite you to contact testing@wada-ama.org.