We have performed 284 OLT and from 1990 we accept donors older than 50 years. We analyzed 100 consecutive OLT from 1990 in relation to donor age and we divided them in three groups: A) 10 liver transplants with donors < 16 years old; B) 76 liver transplants with donors between 16 and 49 years old, and C) 14 liver transplants with donors > 49 years old. The follow-up was more than 6 months. The liver preservation was carried out with Belzer solution and the immunosuppression was performed with cyclosporine A, corticoids and azathioprine. The C group donors were more stable haemodynamically (less dopamine dosage-p < 0.001- and less hours with arterial hypotension-p < 0.05-) and they died less of craneoencephalic traumatism than A group donors (p < 0.01). The C group donors didn't have more frequence of liver esteatosis or greater graft harvest lesions (p = n.s.). The cold ischaemia time was greater in C group vs A (p < 0.05) and its pretransplant clinical status was more serious than in A and B groups (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences between groups in relation to recipient status, frequence of hepatic artery or portal vein thrombosis, frequence of acute rejection, chronic rejection or biochemical graft evolution at first month. There were more primary graft non functions in B vs A (p < 0.05) and retransplants in B vs A and C (p < 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)