Frozen Bone Marrow: Cryopreservation

Bone marrow is a spongy tissue and fluid that lives inside your bones, generating blood cells. Bone marrow tests help oncologists and health professionals check if cancer cells are present, and are typically conducted for cancers that are most likely to affect bone marrow such as lymphoma, leukemia, and myeloma. This process can be done as a diagnostic tool or to see how well your cancer treatment is working.

Bone marrow creates the following, all of which are essential for your health: 

  • Red blood cells: Red blood cells carry oxygen throughout the body. 

  • White blood cells: White blood cells assist in fighting infection and disease threatening the body. 

  • Platelets: Platelets help blood clot when a wound is present, helping in controlling the bleeding. 

Cryopreservation Protocol

An autologous bone marrow transplant is when your bone marrow is harvested from your own marrow, which is then frozen for future use. Autologous is self-donated bone marrow, compared to allogeneic transplants that are taken from donors. Our frozen bone marrow samples are collected from certified hospitals and doctors that use healthy donors. We offer a pathology report for every sample that includes age, sex, ethnicity, tumor size, disease stage, procurement date, and treatment history. Order our fresh bone marrow samples today.

The primary applications of frozen bone marrow samples include: 

  • Treatment research

  • Biomarker tracking 

  • Cancer stem cells

  • Genetics research

  • Single-cell analysis

  • Immune response observation

  • Toxicology

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How is Frozen Bone Marrow Collected

Bone marrow is typically retrieved from your hip bone or the back of your pelvic bone. Frozen bone marrow utilizes a process known as cryopreservation, which has become the standard for biopreservation for its various benefits. Cryopreservation is the process of preserving biological material and storing it below -80°C, which is the temperature of liquid nitrogen. 

During a bone marrow biopsy, a small amount of skin is numbed while a needle is inserted into the bone. The needle collects a sample of blood, bone, and bone marrow, which are studied and examined under a microscope. Once the fresh tissue sample is collected in the operating room, the sample is sent immediately to a pathologist. 


Our geneticists provide a variety of bone marrow samples that are taken from both normal and diseased patients. These samples are taken from the posterior iliac crest with a syringe that contains an anticoagulant and frozen for preservation. Learn more about our frozen bone marrow sampling services.

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