Embryo donation and adoption exists today because of an Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) procedure called In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Once referred to as "making test tube babies", it is a medical procedure where a woman's eggs (a.k.a. oocytes) are harvested and fertilized with the sperm of a male in a laboratory dish with the intent of conceiving a new life. The world's first "test tube" baby was born in Great Britain in 1978, bringing hope to many infertile couples.

In 1984, approximately six years after the advent of IVF, a technique was developed for freezing embryos that were not implanted immediately in the mother. By freezing the remaining embryos, a patient could have additional transfers performed using the frozen embryos without having to harvest and fertilize additional eggs.

At the time embryos were first frozen, doctors knew that the number of embryos in storage would continue to increase, but it was not considered a critical issue. Because of the successes many were having using ART techniques, the number of patients seeking medical care for infertility continued to increase every year. Doctors were focused on perfecting IVF techniques and building their practice. Meanwhile the number of embryos in storage continued to rise without being addressed.

Medical professionals, working with patients for whom all other techniques had failed, first tapped into the cryogenically-frozen embryo supply during the late 1980's. Since embryo use for infertility was seen as a medical issue at that point, the resulting legal and social issues were largely ignored.

Increased use of IVF has lead to a significant rise in the number of embryos created in the lab. These embryos have provided the joy of parenthood to many infertile couples. However many couples who complete their family building through IVF find themselves with difficult decisions to make regarding their remaining frozen embryos.

Today the estimated number of human embryos in frozen storage in the United States is approaching 500,000.

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