A medical facility was originally opened on the site in 1943 as the U.S. Army's Port of Embarkation Hospital, which was a receiving point for the wounded returned from the Pacific theater during World War II.

Construction of the present eight-story hospital building was completed in late 1962 on the easterly portion of the grounds, at Carson Street and Vermont Avenue, replacing a number of the wooden barracks and cottages comprising Harbor General.

[5] On September 1, 1978, the name of the hospital changed officially to Los Angeles County Harbor–UCLA Medical Center in order to draw attention to its working relationship with the UCLA School of Medicine.

Pioneering research in many fields such as reproductive endocrinology, genetics, infectious diseases, trauma and respiratory medicine has brought worldwide attention to the Harbor-UCLA campus.

Although donor embryo transfer as practiced today has evolved from the original non-surgical method, it now accounts for approximately 5% of in vitro fertilization recorded births.