Men and women over the age of 80 in the UK are applying to become the legal parents of children they procured through surrogacy [1], according to official figures.
Data released by Cafcass, the government agency that represents children’s interests in the courts, revealed that between 2020 and 2025 several men over 80 applied for court orders to legally recognise them as the parents of surrogate babies.
The figures also show that in the same time frame there were applications from men aged 70-79 and women aged 60-69, 70-79 and over 80.
The new figures come after The Times revealed in May that a husband and wife, both aged 72, were granted a parental order to become the legal parents of a 14-month-old boy born via surrogacy.
The couple were granted the parental order for the baby, who was born six months earlier to a surrogate in California using the husband’s sperm and a donor egg, despite a judge’s concerns they could die before the boy reaches 18.
There is no legal age limit for intended parents in the UK, but anti-surrogacy campaign groups have condemned the rising trend of older people having babies through surrogates.