Can I transfer a Mass Effect 1 character to a different steam acct?

Hi my friend recently let me use his steam account in which I played and finished Mass Effect 1. I am actually in the midst of downloading Mass Effect 2 when I saw that it is on sale today on Steam. Since I would not be able to keep my friend's account forever, is it possible for me to transfer my saved Shepard from his Mass Effect account to my own if I do purchase Mass Effect 2?

I'm wondering because since I would not have Mass Effect 1 on my own steam account, ME2 may not recognize the fact that I do have a saved character. So is my best bet to transfer saves and hope for the best or should I start a ME2 save with my friend's account with my own character and transfer that ME2 save to my own steam account?

Any help would be extremely appreciated.