A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study to Determine the Efficacy and Safety of Epoetin Alfa in Critically Ill Subjects

Erythropoietin (EPO) is a hormone produced in the kidney. Its function is to stimulate the production of red cells in the bone marrow. The purpose of this research study is to demonstrate that the administration EPO to critically ill subjects in the intensive care unit (ICU) reduces the number of patients requiring red blood cell (RBC) transfusion as compared with placebo (a liquid without active medicine).