The randomization process was performed by a team of nurses not involved with the intraoperative care of the patients. This was obtained by "coin-tossing". In each case, randomization was paired according to the Child-Pugh's Score, calculated immediately before surgery. Stratification was performed by blocking randomization in each subset of patient (scores A, B, or C), with blocks of size 2 with a one-to-one allocation ratio. Thus, while the first patient of each Child-Pugh score was effectively randomized, the second was automatically allocated to the opposite surgical method, completing a pair. However, the investigators had no influence on the second recipient selection due to the characteristics of the organ allocation system in Brazil, former MELD scale criteria was introduced. In that time, the graft distribution was according to four distinct blood groups (A,B,AB,O) generated a greater obstacle to predicting who would be the next patient as related to what would be obtained if blocks of 4 size have been used.