Q: What is Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)?

A: ART stands for Assisted Reproductive Technology which includes all fertility treatments in which both eggs and sperm are handled.

In general, ART procedures involve:

1. Surgically removing eggs from a woman’s ovaries
2. Combining them with sperm in the laboratory
3. Returning them to the woman’s body or donating them to another woman

ART does NOT include treatments in which only sperm are handled (i.e., intrauterine—or artificial—insemination) or procedures in which a woman takes medicine only to stimulate egg production without the intention of having eggs retrieved.