What Affects the Biopsy Test

You may not be able to have the test if you:

• Have bleeding problems or are taking blood thinners such as aspirin, clopidogrel (Plavix), or warfarin (Coumadin).
• Can't be still during the procedure.

Sometimes not enough bone marrow fluid is collected in a bone marrow aspiration. This is called a dry tap. If this happens, a biopsy to obtain bone marrow tissue is usually done
     

• If you have an infection, a culture and sensitivity test of the bone marrow sample can be done. If the infection is caused by a bacteria or fungus, the sensitivity test will show which antibiotics will work best to treat the infection.
• Normal bone marrow in one site does not mean that all sites in the body are normal.