A bone marrow biopsy is primarily performed for the differential diagnosis of various bone marrow and blood disorders. Its indications include, but are not limited to:
* Investigating persistent anemia that is resistant to standard treatments and not attributable to nutritional deficiencies (e.g., iron, B12, folic acid).
* Evaluating abnormal white blood cell counts (leukopenia or leukocytosis) and platelet counts (thrombocytopenia or thrombocytosis), often in conjunction with anemia.
* Diagnosing metabolic diseases affecting the bone marrow, such as glycogen storage disorders.
* Staging lymphomas and assessing for metastasis of solid organ cancers to the bone marrow.
* Diagnosing bone marrow failure syndromes, including aplastic anemia and myelodysplastic syndromes.