The living cells that do not go through mitosis are the gametes, which are the sex cells (sperm and egg cells). Instead of mitosis, they undergo meiosis, a process that results in daughter cells with half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell.

Here's why:

* Mitosis creates two identical daughter cells from a single parent cell, maintaining the same number of chromosomes. This is essential for growth and repair.

* Meiosis produces four daughter cells with half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell. This is crucial for sexual reproduction, allowing the combination of genetic material from two parents.

Therefore, gametes use meiosis to ensure that when they combine during fertilization, the resulting offspring has the correct number of chromosomes.