Infertility and assisted reproductive technologies in Serbia

Infertility is a significant challenge, both on individual and macro levels. The overall aim of this paper is to contribute to better understanding infertility in Serbia by analysing relevant policies and programmes, data on the epidemiology of infertility, health services, and research findings. The investigation is grounded in the action research methodology, which is built on a shared process of reflection between researchers and participants on selected data and documents. The legal framework reflects modern approaches to a number of challenges in this area. Since the end of 2006, the Republic Health Insurance Fund (RHIF) has been financing the National Infertility Treatment Program with biomedically assisted reproduction (BMAR) procedures. The data on the epidemiology of infertility is not sufficiently addressed in health statistics and representative research. The quality of infertility treatment in Serbia is on par with developed countries, but it doesn’t include the donation of reproductive cells and surrogacy. There is also a lack of research on various aspects of infertility in Serbia from the perspective of different scientific disciplines. It is also hard to understand why, despite considerable possibilities for individual solutions to the problem of infertility in Serbia, the share of children born from BMAR procedures is relatively low.