Following informed consent, patients with angiography-positive aneurismal SAH will be randomised to receive either intravenous epoetin beta 30,000IU or placebo (0.9% saline) 50ml/30min, three times in the first week after SAH (total dose 90,000IU). The number in each group will be 40. For blinding, the Pharmacy Manufacture Unit (PMU) will prepare and number identical vials containing either saline (0.9% NaCl) or epoetin beta reconstituted in saline. The vials will be randomly assigned to patients upon enrollment with the contents of each vial known only by the PMU. Trial medication will be started as soon as possible within 72 hours of the ictus. As approximately 70% of aneurysms will be treated with open clipping, and the remainder with endovascular coils, we do not consider the method of treatment to represent a contaminating factor, but it will be included in the final analysis. Location, size, and morphology of the culprit aneurysm are not believed to affect outcome in our institution.