Kristen,
I had to laugh at your edit note...you forgot your name?
I am afraid of doing that one day, I can barely recall anyone elses sometimes, my brain is becoming swiss cheese as I age. Although you likely meant you just forgot to put your name at the bottom, made me laugh anyway.
The Cleveland Clinic is a Center of Excellence for MDS treatment. Your mom is in good hands. If it would help you feel better, and she is willing, a second opinion is never a bad idea. Honestly though, they are cutting edge from what I understand.
They do look for blasts in the marrow, although they can be found in the blood also (not a good thing).
Does she have some fibrosis? That can cause problems with getting an aspirate. My first biopsy was done by someone who didn't do them often, and I was crazy nervous, and they made me go in alone, so I didn't deal with it well. My second was done at The James in Columbus, Ohio. It was so much easier. The CNP did them all the time, they gave me an ativan, I knew what to expect and they let my friend stay in the room with me. The first one he did not get an aspirate, but the second was fine. All that to say, I think stress and the competence of the person doing the biopsy makes a huge difference also. I would expect, however, that the folks at The Cleveland Clinic do them all the time. So there is likely some physical cause for the difficulty. Can you ask the doctor?
Do you go to your mom's appointments with her? Can you ask him or her a lot of questions?
I have only had two biopsies. The second one was a week after the first since I went to The James for a second opinion. Although I have been pretty stable.
Zoe