RATIONALE: Deferasirox may remove excess iron from the body caused by blood transfusions.

PURPOSE: This clinical trial studies deferasirox in treating iron overload caused by blood transfusions in patients with hematologic malignancies.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES: I. To determine the effects of the iron-chelating agent deferasirox on changes in: neutrophil function; macrophage function; lymphocyte function.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES: I. To determine the effect of chelation on the incidence of bacterial, viral and fungal infections documented by clinical, microbiologically-proven versus radiologically-proven criteria. II. To determine the effect of iron chelation on mortality and morbidity with incidence of the following parameters: Need for hospitalization; Duration of hospitalization; Need for ventilatory support; Need for exchange transfusion/apheresis; Need for treatment with antifungals or antibiotics for documented infections.

OUTLINE: Patients receive oral deferasirox once daily for up to 6 months or until blood counts recover in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients must have a pathology confirmed diagnosis of one of the following: myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS); acute leukemia; multiple myeloma; myelofibrosis; lymphoma; chronic anemia; sickle cell anemia
• Iron score >= 2
• Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) >= 1,000
• Platelets >= 50,000
• Albumin >= 2 g/dL
• Alkaline phosphatase =< 5X Upper Limit of Normal (ULN)
• Total bilirubin =< 1.5
• Creatinine =< 2X age-appropriate Upper Limit of Normal (ULN) OR creatinine clearance >= 40 ml/min
• Serum Glutamic Oxaloacetic Transaminase (SGOT) [AST] and Serum Glutamic Pyruvic Transaminase (SGPT) [ALT] =< 5X Upper Limit of Normal (ULN)
• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group(ECOG) performance status of 0 or 1
• Women of child-bearing potential and men must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation; should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately
• Ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with active disease undergoing chemotherapy treatment
• Patient who have been treated with rituximab or immunomodulating drugs =< 1 month prior to enrollment
• HIV-positive patients
• Hepatitis-C positive patients
• Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding
• Patients on hemodialysis/patients with renal failure
• Patients with sepsis or acute illness
• Known hypersensitivity to deferasirox
• Patients with moderate or severe hearing loss as defined by audiogram