Jo-Anne Dobson

Jo-Anne Dobson
Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
for Upper Bann
In office
12 May 2011 – 2 March 2017
Preceded by George Savage
Succeeded by Seat abolished
Personal details
Born Jo-Anne Elizabeth Elliott
(1966-01-03) 3 January 1966
Banbridge, Northern Ireland
Nationality British
Political party Ulster Unionist Party
Spouse(s) John Dobson
Children Mark
Elliott
Residence Waringstown

Jo-Anne Elizabeth Dobson (née Elliott; born 3 January 1966) is a former Ulster Unionist Party politician in Northern Ireland who was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2011. She lost her seat in the Northern Ireland Assembly elections 2017. [1] She took up the role as Northern Ireland Ambassador for charity Kidney Care UK in February 2018 and alongside her son Mark has continued her crusade to promote Organ Donation.

Early life and education

Dobson began her education at Abercorn Primary School and continued her studies at Banbridge Academy. As a strong advocate for the Upper Bann consistency she is heavily involved in charitable roles and in local environmental and farming scenes.[2]

Political career

Dobson was elected to Craigavon Borough Council in a by-election in 2010 - winning 64% of the vote.[3] Upon her election to Stormont she stepped down from Council in 2012, being replaced by Colin McCusker, General Secretary of the Ulster Unionist Party.

On 14 October 2014, Dobson was selected by the Upper Bann Ulster Unionist Association to be the party's candidate for the Upper Bann constituency in the 2015 general election. She won 13,166 votes, thus increasing the Ulster Unionist Party's percentage vote by 1.2% on the previous general election and coming second in what was a closely fought campaign.[4]

Dobson was re-elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2016 [5], taking on new roles as the Chairperson of the Assembly Audit Committee [6] and the Northern Ireland Assembly branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA).

Organ Donation

At five weeks old (May 1993) Dobson's son Mark was diagnosed with Renal Reflux which meant one of his kidney's had been lost and the other was reduced to just 19% function. In 2009 he underwent surgery to receive a donated kidney at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. [7] Dobson had been undergoing tests in late 2008 and early 2009 to become a live donor to her son when the call was received to inform them that a matched kidney had become available for Mark.

In December 2012 Dobson tabled a Private Member's Bill [8] at the Northern Ireland Assembly to change the existing organ donation laws in Northern Ireland. In February 2013 she was elected as chairperson of the newly created Northern Ireland Assembly All-Party Group on Organ Donation [9] During the International TED conference, held at the Northern Ireland Assembly,[10] she dedicated her speech to the memory of Josie Kerr, who, alongside her husband Walter, founded the Northern Ireland Kidney Research Fund, describing her as "an ordinary lady, who led an extraordinary life". [11]

In January 2017 Dobson's son Mark began to undergo tests which showed that his transplanted Kidney was beginning to shut down. In July 2017 it was confirmed that his kidney would need to be removed with the surgery taking place on 1 August at the Belfast City Hospital.

Dobson once again began the tests to become a living donor and underwent transplant surgery at the Belfast City Hospital on 20 March 2018 - donating a kidney to her son. [12]

In February 2018 Dobson took up the newly created role as Northern Ireland Ambassador for the UK's leading kidney patient support charity Kidney Care UK [13], running a leg of the Belfast City Marathon just seven weeks post surgery to raise money to support kidney patients and their families.

Personal life

Dobson is the eldest daughter of Joanie and Eric Elliott. She has a younger sister, Belinda. She married John Dobson, a farmer, when she was 20. The couple has two sons, Mark and Elliott.

References

  1. ↑ 201l election profile, BBC.co.uk; accessed 14 May 2016.
  2. ↑ Profile, stratagem-ni.com; accessed 24 May 2016.
  3. ↑ "UUP takes Craigavon council seat from TUV". BBC News. 2010-01-14. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
  4. ↑ Gordon, Gareth (2015-04-20). "The battleground of Upper Bann". BBC News. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  5. ↑ "Declaration of Result, Northern Ireland Assembly Election 5 May 2016" (PDF). 2016-05-05.
  6. ↑ "The Northern Ireland Assembly". Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  7. ↑ "Mark Dobson: I remember our frantic drive through the snow for surgery". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  8. ↑ "Human Transplantation Bill". www.niassembly.gov.uk. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  9. ↑ "All Party Group on Organ Donation". Niassembly.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2016-05-04. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
  10. ↑ "EU Debate NI – Just another WordPress site". Tedxstormont.com. 2016-05-04. Retrieved 2016-05-14.
  11. ↑ TEDx Talks (2013-04-04), Organ donations: new life, new hope: Jo-Anne Dobson MLA at TEDxStormont, retrieved 2018-06-07
  12. ↑ "Surgeon who helped Jo-Anne Dobson give gift of life to son Mark with kidney transplant". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  13. ↑ "Jo-Anne Dobson takes on new role with Kidney Care charity". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
Northern Ireland Assembly
Preceded by
George Savage		 MLA for Upper Bann
2011–2017		 Seat abolished
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