By Christopher Quinn, Communications/Public Affairs Volunteer

Judson Jones knew from early in his life that the day would likely come when surgeons would have to crack open his chest and do some intensive heart surgery.

He was born with a bicuspid aortic heart valve, an abnormality that can cause a range of heart problems, including allowing blood to flow backward in the heart as it pumps.

He waited through childhood, high school and college without having to face it. He bided his time through his early career as a journalist and his first years of marriage. But six years ago, during his mid-30s, symptoms forced his hand. The bad heart valve was failing. He scheduled surgery. It would not initially go as well as hoped.

If not for the skill and tenacity of a team of Atlanta surgeons and their medical staff, and bag after bag of blood pumped into him during the daylong surgery, Jones would have died. One surgeon later told Jones that, at points during the surgery to replace his heart valve, his body was bleeding from “every orifice.” His lungs filled with blood. The medical team drained what Jones later learned were two bags of blood “about the size of magnum bottles of wine” from them.

At one point in the operation, signs of life ceased.

“They brought me back to life,” Jones said.

And they brought out more blood to replace what he was losing as doctors fought to keep him alive.

Jones said the team essentially “drained the blood bank” for him. A doctor later told him there were just a few pints left before they finally completed the difficult surgery.

Six years later, he’s thrilled to be alive, to wake up next to his wife, to see his two sons growing. He often wears a cap that has stitched into the crown “Holy Sh*t We’re Alive.”

He sings along with the Ben Rector song “Living My Best Life”:

But I'm alive and
Baby, I'm thriving
Oh yeah

I'm living my best life
I wake up with the sunrise

And Jones recalls, with a still-beating and grateful heart, those who helped him through it. The teams of medical professionals. Family and friends. The staff who helped him through two weeks of intensive care recovery. And the strangers he will never have a chance to meet or thank.

“All the people that filled up a bag of blood,” he said.

He said his second son was born after his surgery.

“Without people’s blood, my second child would not be here.”

“Some of the simplest things in life, like giving blood, are incredibly helpful and can change, or save, someone’s life.”

Jones’s situation sounds dramatic, but it is not unheard of. A single car accident victim can require as many as 100 units of blood. It is used in surgeries, for the treatment of cancer and chronic illnesses, and in rehab and recovery. In fact, every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood. The Red Cross collects and distributes about 40% of the nation’s blood and blood products.

To make a donation, simply download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org, or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). All blood types are needed to ensure a reliable supply for patients. A blood donor card or driver’s license or two other forms of identification are required at check-in. Individuals who are 17 years of age in most states (16 with parental consent where allowed by state law), weigh at least 110 pounds and are in generally good health may be eligible to donate blood.