By the time Akelei Jalil Turner was 2 weeks old, doctors found he had a disease that would cause him so much pain he would occasionally need to take morphine.

A few weeks ago, Turner made the decision to undergo a risky operation in the hopes of becoming a normal 8-year-old boy.

"I just want to get this over with so I cannot be sick anymore," said Turner, who was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia, a disease that causes blood cells to distort and become shaped like crescents. "It hurts a lot. Once it starts, it goes on for like two weeks or so."

Turner needs a bone marrow transplant, the only operation that can cure him, and is asking people to test whether they are a match today at a bone marrow drive at the Blaisdell Center.

The test is done by a simple cotton swab swipe in the mouth.

Along with Turner, at least 10 other people in Hawaii need a bone marrow transplant, said Ferdie Gabat, a recruiter specialist with the nonprofit Hawaii Bone Marrow Donor Registry.

Donors must be between age 18 and 60 and in good general health. There is a large demand for minorities and multiracial donors, Gabat said.

Once a match is found and the donor passes a physical exam, donating marrow can be done two ways. About 75 percent of donations are made by filtering the blood. A machine draws blood from one arm, filters out stem cells for the transplant and returns blood to the body in a process that takes about six hours.

Side effects are usually minor, such as muscle soreness, headaches or fatigue, Gabat said.

Another technique is to withdraw marrow from the hip bone with a needle. In that process the donor is put to sleep for one to two hours, and the recovery period takes one to seven days, Gabat said.

The physician determines which process to use, depending on how much marrow is needed.

Turner’s mother Richelle, a single mother from Ewa Beach, said they found a decent match before, but the donor’s family did not want him to do it.

"It’s frustrating for me," she said, because she just wants her son, whom she calls AJ, to "live a healthy life."

Gabat said about half of the donors back out when they are found to be a match. Many do so in part from fear without fully understanding the process, Gabat said.

Turner’s mother said the pain he goes through is so intense, she wishes she could keep him hovering in air because it hurts when he lies down and is touched.

"The pain is in his bones," she said.

She said without surgery, the disease could lead to strokes, seizures or other health problems. She said her son is forced to reduce his physical activity and has missed months of school because of extreme pain.

AJ, who likes helping animals, would spend more time swimming with his two brothers at the beach if he were cured.

"I would just do what I couldn’t used to do," he said.