I'm very surprised to hear that Stanford has told you that they do not provide conscious sedation for their patients. The Stanford website contains numerous mentions of conscious sedation. For example,
- an update for medical staff from the Chief of Staff says:
"Similar [informed consent] rules apply for conscious sedation. We must document that we have given appropriate information whenever we consciously sedate our patients. Physicians should read the new policy. It is available at nursing stations. In essence, the policy requires us to explain to patients not only the risks and possible complications of conscious sedation, but also the alternatives to using sedation for the procedure."
- a page on Interventional Radiology Information for Physicians says:
"...patients who need long-term chemotherapy may be candidates for chest ports or arm ports. These subcutaneous infusion ports can be easily placed under radiological guidance under conscious sedation."
- a page that lists Important Dated Departmental Memos for the Department of Surgery has an entry titled "Invasive Procedures & Conscious Sedation Forms 7-21-06". This page requires a login, but does indicate that someone, somewhere at the Stanford Medical Center is performing conscious sedation.
I've had bone marrow biopsies done with no sedation, with versed/demerol, and with conscious sedation. There is absolutely no question that I would never have another one without conscious sedation. I urge you not to accept the answer you've been given without pressing for more information. Stanford clearly does conscious sedation so the question for them should be how to arrange for it to be used during a bone marrow biopsy.
Hope this helps.
Ruth Cuadra