The decade of the 1980s revolutionized reproductive medicine and introduced a new term to infertility therapy-assisted reproductive technology (ART). ART includes methods of assisting fertilization: in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) and embryo cryopreservation (freezing).

Normally eggs are fertilized in the fallopian tubes. But if the tubes are obstructed and surgery cannot restore their normal structure, eggs can be removed from the ovaries and fertilized with the partner's sperm in a laboratory. The resulting embryos are then transferred to the uterus. This technique is called in vitro (meaning glass) fertilization.

Cryopreservation is a procedure that maintains the viability of extra embryos produced during an IVF-ET. Embryos are stored in liquid nitrogen at a very low temperature. In the future, the embryos can be warmed and transferred to the woman's uterus, offering another chance for pregnancy.

The UC Davis ART Program opened in March 1990 after a new University Surgery Center and state-of-the-art IVF laboratory was constructed in Sacramento. The first pregnancies through the ART program occurred the following month, and the first babies were born in January 1991.

The director of the UC Davis ART Program, Stephen Boyers, served as the director of the ART Program at Yale University before joining UC Davis. He has more than a decade of experience with IVF-ET and related technologies.

The UC Davis ART Program is an active member of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) in the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). The IVF laboratory meets the highest standard for quality assurance. It is registered through the State of California Department of Health and Human Services (TISSUE BANK LICENSE #CNC 80177), and it has been certified by the College of American Pathologists.