@barbwsm, Epoetin Alfa (Procrit) and Darbepoetin Alfa (Aranesp) are both medications given to patients with anemia in an effort to encourage production of red blood cell. Since the drugs are similar in their goals, doctors will make the decision based on what is best for their patient.

With the diagnosis of MDS your red blood cell counts have been decreasing. Your doctor prescribed Procrit in an effort to encourage red blood cell production. You mentioned in another reply that your RBC hasn’t returned normal. While the drugs Procrit or Aranesp may help promote red blood production it may not be enough to match the usual production of a healthy bone marrow. Every second, if healthy, the body will produce over several million cells. Over the course of a day, that’s over 200 billion red blood cells; A staggering amount. So if the ‘manufacturing equipment’ in the bone marrow is basically malfunctioning, the drugs can only do so much to keep up the pace. Think of it as a factory running with a skeleton crew. While there will be some production and the business will keep running, the output will be less than with a full production team.

When is your next set of labs?