A surrogate mother in the United States, Judy, revealed that she only found out on the eve of the embryo transfer that the intended parent was Chinese billionaire Xu Bo. This incident has raised doubts about the California surrogacy agency “Patriot Conceptions”. It was reported that Xu Bo already has over a hundred children.
The head of the agency, Haotian Bai, previously served as a researcher at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. The Hoover Institution stated on its website last week that Haotian Bai is no longer affiliated with the institution. They mentioned that, given recent media reports, “Mr. Bai apparently misled the institution on the nature of his business,” and declared a comprehensive review of the application process for veteran researcher programs.
Haotian Bai denied any misleading actions. In a written response provided to CBS News, he claimed that he was selected as a researcher through normal application procedures under his identity as a U.S. Army veteran and had never misled the Hoover Institution in terms of research content or intent.
According to a CBS News report on Thursday, Judy confirmed that she was only informed that Xu Bo was the intended parent on the night before her surgery for embryo transfer upon arriving in California from her home state. Documents obtained by CBS indicated that Xu Bo was indeed the designated father of the child.
Judy, a single mother, expressed astonishment at the large family size of the intended parent. “You wouldn’t think to ask, ‘Do they already have over a hundred children?'” she said.
Xu Bo is the founder of Guangzhou DoYe Network. Reports about him having numerous children through surrogacy in the United States have drawn attention to Judy’s experience. His company previously stated in a release that he has 12 children born through U.S. surrogacy, while claiming a total number of over 100 children.
Judy mentioned that “Patriot Conceptions” initially informed her that the intended parent was a “single father looking to expand his family”. She believed that the agency would protect surrogate mothers and select well-intentioned intended parents for them.
Both sides differ on whether the agency had advised her to terminate the contract. Following CBS’s investigative report on September 13 about Xu Bo’s surrogacy dealings in 2025, the agency stated that employees had encouraged Judy to terminate the contract, as the company was previously unaware of Xu Bo’s family size. However, Judy denied receiving any suggestions to withdraw and mentioned that the staff had even delivered flowers and snacks to her hotel room after her embryo transfer in April.
It remains unclear how “Patriot Conceptions” initially agreed to provide surrogacy services for Xu Bo. CBS reported that the company collaborates with a global surrogacy agency representing intended fathers.
During Haotian Bai’s tenure as a researcher at the Hoover Institution from 2024 to 2025, he focused on the issues faced by veterans in accessing in vitro fertilization services. He frequently promoted his surrogacy agency by emphasizing its founding by veterans in the United States.
The recent severance announcement by the Hoover Institution and the review of the veteran researcher program application procedures have led to further scrutiny of his military experience and business background.
In a dispute with a former business partner in 2019, Haotian Bai submitted a statement to the court, claiming to have served in Afghanistan during his time in the U.S. Army and being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
However, a U.S. Army spokesperson confirmed to CBS that Haotian Bai served as a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Specialist from November 2013 to October 2017, assisting in preparing deploying units, without being deployed overseas; he held the rank Specialist upon discharge.
In 2018, Haotian Bai co-founded another surrogacy agency with someone, leading to a lawsuit the following year, which was later voluntarily withdrawn by the parties. He founded “Patriot Conceptions” in 2019. According to company information, international clients constitute 40% of their business, with a particular focus on clients from China.
As reported by the New York Post citing sources, Haotian Bai came to the U.S. in 2012 from Lanzhou University in Gansu, China, pursued a master’s degree in Environmental Engineering at Iowa State University, then joined the U.S. Army to obtain U.S. permanent residency.
After retiring from the U.S. military, Haotian Bai settled in Hawaii. In a 2019 report by local media, he was noted to have offered summer internship opportunities within the Hawaii State Legislature to Chinese students for a fee of $5,000 per person, which sparked controversy and was promptly halted.
Presenting himself as a fertility expert, Haotian Bai is active in Republican circles, delivering speeches at various conventions, participating in podcast programs, attending events, and writing commentary articles for the business magazine “Inc.”