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:
- Surgically removing eggs from a woman’s ovaries
- Combining them with sperm in the laboratory
- 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.