Joanne Harris became a national celebrity when family friend Craig Phillips donated the prize money from winning the first Big Brother to her to fund a heart and lung transplant.
It had been feared she would have to travel to the US for treatment.
She became a true ambassador for people with Down Syndrome after her plight prompted a Government minister to pledge that disabled people should not face discrimination if they needed a transplant and she was put on the NHS transplant waiting list.
Despite her disability she attended mainstream schools and college, joined the Brownies, won medals for dancing and trained to be a hairdresser. She brought so much joy to so many people and did so much to show that people with disabilities can lead very full lives.
Sadly, Jo fell ill with an infection and lost her fight for life in April 2008 but her legacy lives on in her family and in all those whose lives she touched.