Drug exposure is implicated in the aetiology of some cases of acquired aplastic anaemia (AA), but the reason for this susceptibility remains unclear. We previously demonstrated that P-glycoprotein (P-gp) function, a drug efflux pump, is decreased in AA lymphocytes. To further evaluate whether P-gp activity is also abnormal in AA stem cells, we examined bone marrow (BM) CD34+ cells from newly diagnosed AA patients (AA-d, n = 25), after immunosuppression (AA-IST, n = 13) and after BM transplantation (AA-BMT, n = 8). Of the AA patients with autologous haematopoiesis (AA-d + AA-IST), 15 had drug-induced AA. Thirty-two BM donors were studied as controls. P-glycoprotein function was assessed by the rhodamine 123-efflux assay. P-glycoprotein function in CD34+ cells was reduced in AA-d patients (17.8%, 0-67.7) compared with controls (42.5%, 13.4-57.4; P < 0.001), as well as in AA-IST (20.3%, 1.2-32.0; P < 0.001), but not in AA-BMT (40.9%, 19.0-55.9). P-gp function was reduced more in drug-induced AA (14.5%, 0-27.4) than in the other cases (26.1%, 0-67.7; P = 0.04), but it did not correlate with disease severity. These results indicate that P-gp function is defective in AA CD34+ cells, pointing to a role of P-gp in increased cell susceptibility to xenobiotics in AA.