Deferasirox in Treating Iron Overload Caused By Blood Transfusions in Patients With Hematologic Malignancies

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