While Suleman said he donated easily for her first four pregnancies, she “to really beg him to do it again” for her fifth pregnancy, which resulted in her twins. It was after this pregnancy she claims the donor refused to contribute further.

“I was determined—I was vehemently determined—to have a seventh,” she explained. “One more. And I would do it no matter what.”

Suleman ultimately purchased one vial of sperm from a bank in California that resulted in her octuplet pregnancy, after which she gave birth to now 16-year-olds Noah, Maliyah, Isaiah, Nariyah, Makai, Josiah, Jeremiah and Jonah.

While the octuplets were conceived by an anonymous donor—meaning they could not find out their father’s identity, even if they wanted to—Suleman’s oldest children know their father’s identity.