USADA blood testing about to get ‘virtually painless’ with TAP push-button collecting

Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighters are about to become guinea pigs.

United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) is rolling out what it describes as a “virtually painless” method of collecting blood, utilizing the TAP device from Seventh Sense Biosystems. It’s named TAP because you tap it and it draws blood quickly, with minimal discomfort.

The last time I got tapped, the discomfort was anything but minimal, but what happens in the clink, stays in the clink. Anyway, the pilot program will be implemented for UFC drug testing and could become standard operating procedure if proven successful.