MLB, union stopped blood testing for HGH due to pandemic

Major League Baseball and the players’ association stopped blood testing for Human Growth Hormone because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Blood testing for HGH began in 2012, and 412 samples with no positive results were collected in the year ending with the 2020 World Series. MLB and the union never publicly announced the stoppage in blood testing but its absence was revealed Monday when Thomas M. Martin, the independent administrator of the joint drug program, released his annual report.

The decision to interrupt blood testing during the pandemic was made because drawing blood is more invasive than urine testing and requires additional collectors who would have increased the number of people coming into contact with players and decreased social distancing. MLB and the union plan to resume blood testing next season.