Are Canadian donations tax deductible in the US?

Can donations to an individual's medical expenses be set up so that they are tax deductible in the US?

• Hypothetically: I break my arm and do not have insurance or money for the medical expenses. My friends and co-workers want to help pay the costs. Could I set something up so that their gifts are tax deductible?

• Answer:

  A qualified charity cannot benefit one specific individual, so to make their gifts 'tax deductible you would have to set up a charitable organization that had the charitable purpose of benefiting a class of people that you could qualify for and then somehow be the beneficiary of that organization. So yes it would be theoretically possible, but the logistics to make that happen essentially make it practically impossible. If only one of your friends wanted to help and was willing to adopt you and pay more than half of your living expenses so that you qualify as their dependent, then that one individual could take an itemized deduction for your medical care to the extent that their total medical expenses including yours exceed 7.5% of their AGI.