Baby born in Guangzhou hospital four years after his parents died in car crash

The decease couple’s parents fought a long, complicated, and fascinating legal battle in order to become grandparents

On December 9th, 2017, “Tian Tian” was born at a hospital in Guangzhou, four years after the death of his parents.

Back in 2013, following two years of marriage, Shen Jie and Liu Xi had decided to have a child through in-vitro fertilization. However, five days before a fertilized embryo was scheduled to be transplanted into Liu’s uterus, the couple was tragically killed in a car crash.

Over the next three years, Liu and Shen’s parents fought a protracted legal battle to gain control of the embryos, which were stored at a Nanjing hospital. The case was unprecedented in China, but, eventually the parents won the fight.

However, that was hardly the only legal hurdle that they had to overcome in their longing for a grandchild. Surrogacy is illegal in China, meaning that they had to look south, to the country of Laos, for an answer.

With no airline willing to fly the frozen embryos across the border, the parents were forced to drive the precious cargo into Laos, where it was then transplanted into a surrogate.

To avoid yet more bureaucratic red tape, the parents helped the surrogate mother secure a Chinese tourist visa. Before her due date, she entered China and gave birth to little “Tian Tian” at a Guangzhou hospital.

Afterward, the new grandparents underwent blood and DNA tests to prove that the child was their grandson, and that both of his parents were Chinese, making him a Chinese citizen.

Recently, the grandparents had a small party to celebrate the fact that Tian Tian was now 100 days old. One of the grandfathers said that they will eventually tell the boy about what happened to his parents, but until he is old enough to understand, they’ll tell him that his mom and dad are living abroad.

Tian Tian’s story was first reported on Tuesday by the Beijing News and has caused quite the sensation online. Many netizens have argued that this situation shows why China should legalize surrogacy, particularly considering its extreme family planning policies of the past.

“This is a family that is rich and capable. But, there are many others that have lost their only child. Shouldn’t the government offer them any support (for the price they’ve had to pay) for complying with family planning policies?” the AFP quotes on Weibo user as asking.