Do you need a referral for bone marrow biopsy?

The specialist provides the clinical reason for testing and relevant blood results so the procedure and pathology teams know which samples and analyses are needed. Facility rules differ, but direct self-booking is generally not the route for this investigation.

Bone marrow aspiration removes liquid marrow, while a trephine biopsy obtains a small core of tissue; a clinician may request one or both. These samples can show how blood cells are being produced and provide information that is not available from a routine blood count alone.

The referral connects the procedure to a specific diagnostic question. It does not establish a diagnosis before the samples have been examined and interpreted alongside blood tests and other findings.

Speak with the clinician investigating your abnormal blood results or managing your condition. Confirm that the biopsy unit has the request, recent laboratory results, and relevant treatment history. Provide a complete list of medicines, allergies, bleeding problems, and previous difficulties with local anaesthetic or sedation.

Ask whether eating or drinking restrictions apply and whether you will need transport home. If you take a blood thinner, obtain instructions from the procedure team and prescriber rather than changing it yourself. Wear clothing that allows access to the back of the hip, where sampling is commonly performed.

Do not wait for the biopsy appointment if you develop heavy bleeding, severe breathlessness, chest pain, fainting, confusion, or a rapidly worsening illness. Following the procedure, contact the clinical team promptly for persistent bleeding, increasing swelling, fever, spreading redness, drainage, or pain that is intensifying instead of settling.

Ask whether aspiration, a tissue core, or both are planned and what question the samples should answer. Discuss pain control, sedation options, medicine adjustments, wound care, activity after sampling, who will interpret the result, and when you should expect a follow-up conversation.