I am 47 and currently working on an adoption from Kazakhstan. A very common theme on all the discussions I've read is to go with your heart. At first I thought I was being all analytical, but when asked about my choice, I typically say that I was drawn to Kaz from early on.
When you are our age, it is easy to question motives and abilities - is it a midlife crisis? If I really wanted kids why don't I have them already, etc. etc. And I admire how you are approaching this issue since I think we all need to examine our motives. But for me, when I think back it all fits. And now I can see that I am so ready for having life be NOT all about me. I have so many things that will make raising a child easier and better than ever before. And I think I can retire when my child is about 14 - just think of all the close quality time that I can spend with my teenager
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Also, as previously stated, no one has guarantees. My uncle died of cancer when his kids where young and my father died of a sudden heart attack at 62 - only seeing one grandchild at an infant stage. My biggest concern is how many children to adopt at this ripe old age. I come from a large family and so my child will have a close extended family - but is it the same? If my Mom dies we are a big close group - how would it be if it was just me? But I have decided to figure out this first adoption and then go from there.
One thing I did when thinking about adoption and racial issues was talk to some of my friends children that where 10 years old and up. After all, it won't be about us as much as about how other kids treat them. I was worried because although there is some Asian population here, it is certainly not culturely diverse. It was just a huge relief to me to discuss racial issues with these kids and realize that it is more an adult issue. While I think they were probably somewhat naive, they have about 10% of their classmates that are not caucasion and they all - not one exception - thought it was just not a big issue. They were sort of clueless on why it was one of my big issues (probably verses how ancient I am).
Good luck - the right decisions are all there when we are open to truth. And there is nothing wrong with having children or not having children. Take care.