IVF boom fuels adoption crisis: Number of children needing a home outstrips approved adopters by 1,600, charity warns

Britain is facing its biggest adoption shortfall in decades, with experts warning the growing popularity of IVF is contributing to a widening gap between children needing permanent homes and families willing to adopt them.

Figures show there are currently around 1,600 more children waiting for adoption than there are approved families available to take them in.

Over the past five years, the number of youngsters needing permanent homes has risen by 52 per cent, while the pool of approved families has shrunk by 46 per cent.

And new modelling by adoption charity Coram suggests the shortage is set to worsen over the coming years, with the gap forecast to reach a record high by 2030.

Dame Carol Homden, chief executive of Coram, explained that people are now going through more rounds of IVF treatment before considering adoption.

‘Our analysis shows a growing gap between the number of children who need adoption and the number of prospective adopters stepping forward, meaning too many children risk spending longer in care during some of the most important years of their lives,’ she said.

‘These are not just days on a calendar. They are opportunities to build relationships, grow in confidence and experience the security of knowing they belong.’

Coram’s figures show there are currently enough approved families available for just 41 per cent of the children waiting for a permanent home.

Projections suggest that figure could fall to as little as 13 per cent by the end of the decade if current trends continue.

Adoption Focus, a UK adoption agency that works to find permanent homes for vulnerable children, recently launched a ‘They’re Still Waiting’ campaign.

CEO Anna Sharkey said: ‘There are thousands of children across the country who are waiting for the sense of belonging and security that a permanent family can provide.

‘There are memories waiting to be made, bedrooms waiting to be filled and, most significantly, children waiting for someone to say: you belong here.’

The findings come as IVF has become increasingly common in Britain, with around 21,400 babies born through the treatment in 2024.

According to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, those births accounted for 3.2 per cent of all babies born in the UK that year.

Overall, the number of IVF births has more than doubled since 2004 - even as the overall UK birth rate has declined.