Hi Judy,
I too am surprised by the recommended treatment. A second opinion is a very good idea. What you are looking for is someone to lay out all of your options and possible outcomes and expected side effects for each. This includes doing nothing. The one thing no one can do is to predict how your Dad will do with the treatment protocol he chooses. That's why you have to evaluate all options, decide what's most important to him like quality of life, etc. These treatments are expensive and time consuming. They take a lot energy. And the older you are, usually harder to tolerate.
At this point, if it was me, I wouldn't proceed with another BMB or drug treatment until you get another opinion. Then, if your Dad has a good primary care doc, I would sit with him to go over the options and get an un-biased opinion from someone who is not directly involved in treating the MDS.
If you decide you want to move forward with another treatment protocol other than growth factors and transfusions, then a BMB is a good idea. If not, I'm not sure why they would subject him to another BMB.
Here's info on the drug he was taking. You can look up all the other drugs for MDS here as well.
http://www.rxlist.com/dacogen-drug.htm