Castration: the key to longer life Most of the boys had either lost their genitals in accidents, most commonly after being bitten by dogs, or deliberately been castrated so that they would be allowed into the palace. Although they were unable to father children, eunuchs were permitted to marry and could have families by adopting girls or castrated boys. Writing in the Current Biology journal, researchers Kyung-Jin Min and Cheol-Koo Lee said Korean eunuchs were 130 times more likely to live to 100 than people in developed countries. Kings and men in the royal family had the shortest lives of anyone in the court and only lived to their mid-forties on average, they added, suggesting that the benefits could not just be down to the benefits of life in a palace.