blood cell distribution width rdw e g to assess the individual 39 s response to administration of a chimeric protein of the invention or administration of a nucleic acid encoding a chimeric protein of the invention hematocrit mean corpuscular hemoglobin or u201c mean cell hemoglobin u201d mch and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration or mchc also can be calculated and compared to values adjusted for age and sex for example for adult men a hemoglobin level less than 13 0 g dl grams per deciliter is diagnostic of anemia and for adult women the diagnostic threshold is below 12 0 g dl a normal hematocrit value is 32 to 36 g dl in alternative embodiments other tests also can be used e g the erythrocyte sedimentation rate esr the reticulocyte production index rpi also called a corrected reticulocyte count folic acid serum iron hepcidin transferrin vitamin b12 and or creatinine levels e g to assess the individual 39 s response to administration of a chimeric protein of the invention or administration of a nucleic acid encoding a chimeric protein of the invention in alternative embodiments methods of this invention can be practiced with other treatments for anemia e g blood transfusions hyperbaric medicine administration of an epo to a patient e g a.