Objective: To identify barriers and future strategies for establishing fertility preservation in developing countries. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted to identify studies/articles reporting in English on the barriers and strategies of fertility preservation in the developing countries. The literature search was conducted in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and Google Scholar using search terms "challenges", "strategies", "fertility preservation", and "developing countries" to identify relevant sources from 2019 to 2024 applicable to current updates on fertility preservation. Results: A total of 34 studies were included in the analysis. Barriers were identified on healthcare providers and patients. Moreover, it could also be categorized as the backbone of an established fertility preservation center, which is an accessible assisted reproductive technology (ART) center. Without an established ART center, maintaining and utilizing the fertility preservation center would be challenging. Lack of awareness was another main barrier identified among healthcare providers. From the patient's perspective, the main barriers identified were the lack of financial support for fertility preservation programs and the awareness of fertility preservation programs. Policy, sociocultural, religious, knowledge, access to service, competency, and attitude were the other barriers identified. Few studies addressed strategies. Several strategies were identified, including improving access to ART facilities, enhancing financial support and policy for targeted patients undergoing fertility preservation, and increasing knowledge and awareness of healthcare providers and patients. However, further investigation is warranted. Conclusions: Several barriers have been identified for fertility preservation in developing countries. Therefore, corresponding strategies were proposed to specifically address them.
Ayuandari et al. (Fri,) studied this question.