This factsheet is for young people who need to have a bone marrow biopsy to check if they have aplastic anaemia.

What is a bone marrow biopsy?

A bone marrow biopsy is when doctors take a small piece of bone marrow and check it under a microscope to see if you have aplastic anaemia.

Your bone marrow inside your bones is where stem cells are made. These stem cells turn into the different types of blood cells your body needs to keep you healthy. In aplastic anaemia, bone marrow doesn’t make enough of these stem cells. The biopsy will help doctors to see whether this is the reason you’ve not been feeling well or have been having problems. Most importantly, it will also help them to decide what treatment you need to help you feel better.

What’s in this factsheet?

This factsheet explains a bit more about bone marrow and aplastic anaemia. It tells you what happens when you have a bone marrow biopsy, the different types of tests that will be done with it, and what happens afterwards.

You can view or download the factsheet as a PDF here: 

Bone marrow biopsy (age group 12-16)

Or order it as a printed booklet here.