A needle (10) for a surgical instrument for removal of diseased or unwanted tissue is described. The needle (10) has a hollow elongate needle shaft (12) with a needle tip (14) at a distal end for cutting tissue. The needle tip (14) is flared in at least one plane and has a plurality of grooves (16) milled into a surface of the tip in an asymmetric arrangement around the circumference of the needle tip (14)..