Tiantian was born in China in December to a Laotian surrogate. Although he has no parents, his four grandparents have reportedly proven relations through DNA.

Tiantian’s parents had intended on having a baby through in-vitro fertilization (IFV) and froze several embryos. After their untimely death, the grandparents-in-waiting fought a protracted legal battle to inherit the fertilized eggs that were frozen in a Nanjing hospital’s liquid nitrogen tank.