Despite impressive advances in the safety of the blood supply,1 the search for therapeutic alternatives to blood continues.2,3 Erythropoietin (along with iron, vitamin B12, and folic acid) has been recommended as a specific medication “that should be used instead of blood transfusion if the clinical condition of the patient permits sufficient time for these agents to promote erythropoiesis.”4 Therapy with recombinant human erythropoietin (Epogen, Amgen, Thousand Oaks, Calif.) was first shown to correct the anemia caused by chronic renal failure in patients undergoing dialysis.5 Subsequently, erythropoietin (Procrit, OrthoBiotech, Raritan, N.J.) was also approved for the treatment of . . .
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Goodnough et al. (1997) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: