The purpose of this study is to determine whether epoetin alfa will enable self-donation of at least 4 units of blood during the 2-week period before surgery (which is a shorter period of time than the conventional 3-week blood donation period before surgery) in patients who are not anemic and who will be undergoing orthopedic or heart and blood vessel surgery. Epoetin alfa is a genetically engineered protein that stimulates red blood cell production.
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Number of self-donated units of blood collected within 2 weeks; Change in hemoglobin level from before the start of the study to the end of the study