All patients 18 years old and older with RA, RARS and RAEB who have a 5q deletion as their sole cytogenetic abnormality who require transfusion support with blood defined as needing at least one unit of packed red blood cells per month for greater than or equal to 2 months and/or thrombocytopenia defined as a platelet count less than 50,000, and/or severe neutropenia (absolute neutrophil count less than 500) are eligible, including patients that had been treated with chemotherapy or experimental agents such as retinoids, phenylbutyrate, amifostine, Vitamin D, ATG or hematopoietic growth factors.