A Canadian mother and daughter team give new meaning to "Blood Without Borders." Ineligible to donate north of the border, they are making the two hour trip to Vermont to find a way to help patients in need.

Karen and Julie Tee want to help patients in need; however, the deferral criteria for travel to the United Kingdom is much stricter for donors giving blood through Hema-Quebec than through the American Red Cross - 30 days travel time as opposed to three months.

While Karen had donated blood many times before the restrictions to prevent the theoretical threat of vCJD, the human form of Mad Cow Disease, went into effect, her daughter Julie never had this opportunity.

With friends and many other ties to the Green Mountain State, Karen discovered a Red Cross blood drive one day at the University Mall. She found out she was still eligible to donate in the states and made an instant decision to do so. Later, daughter Julie went online to find out where blood drives might be held during upcoming trips across the border.

Both ladies discovered that, not only were they eligible to give blood, they also met the few special requirements to become Double Red Cell donors. Since Double Red Cell donors can give two units of packed red blood cells but must wait 16 weeks between donations, rather than 8 weeks for Whole Blood donors, it seemed like a perfect fit.

Julie's fiance was also inspired to give blood in Canada after seeing Karen and Julie roll up their sleeves.

Karen and Julie are residents of Montreal and must drive 95 miles to reach the Burlington Red Cross Donor Center. Luckily, they are able to combine their blood donation with visits with friends and other activities in the Burlington area.

We welcome these dedicated Canadian friends and look forward to their next visit "south of the border!"

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