The clinical target for treatment of anemia in this population, per the KDOQI 2000 recommendations, was a hemoglobin level of 11- 12 mg/dL. To reach this hemoglobin level, patients need to have their iron stores replenished with intravenous iron, and they also need to receive EPO, which stimulates red blood cell production and thereby works to correct the anemia. The recommended target for iron stores was a serum ferritin level of at least 100ng/mL. The guideline called for an initial EPO dose of 120-180 units per kg per week, which we assume remained the dose during the study period. We calculatedthe recommended dosage of EPO based on a 72.5 kg adult, which is the average weight of hemodialysis patients reported by USRDS. For iron, the recommended dose for adults was 100-125mg of intravenously at every hemodialysis session for 8-10 doses followed by a maintenance dose of 25-125mg per week upon reaching the target ferritin level.