EPO and ischemia: We have demonstrated that preconditioning mice with EPO (1,000 U/kg/day for 3 days) in a protocol that has been shown to mobilize EPCs [6] was associated with a greater degree of renal protection in a model of renal IRI (30 minutes ischemia and 24 hours reperfusion) compared with the administration of a single dose of EPO (1,000 U/kg) at the time of reperfusion [6].