Blood labs give a snapshot. Biolyz gives the story.
Blood labs read your athletes’ blood, a few times a season.
Biolyz reads their saliva and gets the same biochemical depth, no needle involved.
- CollectionA swab in under a minute, done by the athlete.Blood labs need a trained professional to draw blood.
- SpeedThe full 60+ biomarker panel comes back in 24–48 hours, every time.A blood lab’s full panel takes about a week.
- FrequencyDaily, if the club wants it.Blood labs run the full panel a handful of times a season, because a blood draw doesn’t scale to daily use.
- InfrastructureNothing to install, no dedicated space.Blood labs need a controlled draw process, cooling and a courier for every round.
Examples of sports blood labs
- ~2 daysForth (Forth Edge)Finger-prick home kits with 15 to 40+ markers
- ~3 daysMedichecks Ultimate Performance56 markers from a venous or finger-prick sample
- ~7 daysInsideTrackerUp to 54 markers from a venous draw
What’s the Difference?
A blood lab company takes a venous sample, sends it to a clinical lab and returns a broad panel of 50+ markers. It is the gold standard for health screening: iron status, blood count, vitamins, hormones, liver and kidney function. But it is a snapshot, taken a few times a season.
Biolyz looks at stress, recovery, inflammation, sleep, hydration and nutrition from a saliva swab, as often as daily. That is the difference between a quarterly health check and a running picture of how each athlete responds to training. The first tells you where an athlete stands. The second tells you where they are heading.
Side-by-Side
| Feature | Biolyz | Sports Blood Lab |
|---|---|---|
| Sample | Saliva | Venous blood (some finger-prick options) |
| Needle | No | Yes |
| Panel Size | 60+ biomarkers per sample | 50+ markers per venous panel |
| Time to result | 24 to 48 hours | About a week for the full panel |
| Who takes the sample | The athlete | Doctor or phlebotomist |
| Equipment | Saliva swab | Needles, blood tubes, cooling, courier |
| Precision | Mass spectrometry (ICH M10) | Accredited clinical lab methods |
| Frequency for a squad | Daily or 2 to 5 times a week | A handful of times a season |
| Body systems covered | Stress, recovery, inflammation, sleep, hydration, nutrition | Blood count, iron, vitamins, hormones, organ function, muscle damage |
| Data | One platform, individual baselines, AI pattern detection | Platform with sports interpretation, periodic snapshots |
| Who’s involved | One company, one pipeline | Blood lab company, partner labs, courier, medical staff |
| Works without a needle | Yes | No |
No tool does it all.
Built for a deep, clinical snapshot. Monitoring a whole squad every week asks for something else.
- A needle for every test, which athletes accept a few times a season but not every week
- A doctor or phlebotomist has to draw each sample, which ties up medical staff
- Samples need cooling, a courier and a partner lab, so several parties are involved
- Results take about a week, so they describe how the athlete was, not how they are
- A handful of draws per season leaves long gaps where overload or illness can build unnoticed
Built for the whole squad week to week, not for a clinical diagnosis.
- No full blood count, iron status or other blood-only markers
- Results arrive in 24 to 48 hours, not on the spot
- Saliva reference ranges are younger than blood’s, so Biolyz compares each athlete with their own baseline
What a Testing Day Looks Like
Take a squad of 25 players.
- Draw blood from every player
- Cool the tubes
- Courier to a partner lab
- Results about a week later
- Swab in under a minute
- Samples to our lab
- Whole squad on one dashboard, 24–48 h
Cost per Insight
The fair comparison is not price per test but price per useful insight.
A blood panel delivers a lot of information per draw, but only a few draws fit into a season. Between them, there is no data at all.
- Staff timeA doctor or phlebotomist draws every sample. With Biolyz, athletes sample themselves in under a minute.
- LogisticsTubes, cooling, couriers and partner labs add cost and coordination to every round of testing.
- Missed signalsAn overload or illness spotted a few days earlier can save weeks of lost training. Long gaps between blood draws are where those signals get missed.
Which Approach Fits Athletes Best?
Not rivals, but tools for two different jobs.
“Is this athlete healthy, and are any values out of range?”
If you need a clinical health screening, blood-only markers or a medical diagnosis.
- A broad clinical panel with established reference ranges
- Blood-only markers such as blood count, iron status and vitamins
- The accepted standard for medical screening and diagnosis
“How is this athlete adapting and recovering, day by day?”
If you want to track recovery, stress and readiness for a whole squad, every day, without needles.
- 60+ biomarkers across six body systems from one swab
- Needle-free self-sampling, as often as daily
- Results in 24 to 48 hours instead of about a week
- One company and one dashboard, from sample to insight
Blood checks the foundation. Biolyz steers the week.
If you want periodic health checks and continuous monitoring.
“I was skeptical at first, but when you experience the power of looking inside a player on a daily basis, that can really change how you work and compete.”
Is saliva as accurate as blood?
For the markers Biolyz measures, the method itself is lab grade: mass spectrometry with a typical variation of 4.8%, assessed against the ICH M10 guideline. Saliva and blood carry different information, though, and some values such as iron status still need blood.
Can Biolyz replace blood tests?
No. Blood remains the standard for clinical screening and blood-only markers. Biolyz fills the gaps between blood draws with daily, needle-free monitoring.
How fast do I get Biolyz results?
Within 24 to 48 hours of sampling, delivered to the Biolyz dashboard. A full venous blood panel usually takes about a week.
Who takes the sample, and how long does it take?
The athlete, in under a minute, with a painless saliva swab. No needle, no doctor and no phlebotomist are needed.
How often should athletes be tested?
Borussia Dortmund tested players two to five times a week with Biolyz. Blood panels typically run a few times a season, for example pre-season, mid-season and after injury.
Can I use Biolyz and a sports blood lab together?
Yes, and many teams should. Blood checks the foundation a few times a season; Biolyz shows how each athlete is responding in between.