Mitosis and meiosis are both types of cell division.Cells that divide by mitosis produce 2 identical daughter cells - these cells have the same number of chromosomes. These cells are important for growth and repair (because they are exactly the same as the cells they replace).Cells that divide by meiosis produce 4 daughter cells - these cells have half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell did. These cells are important for reproduction, otherwise gametes would contain the same number of chromosomes as a parent cell and this would double the number of chromosomes across each generation when fertilisation occurs.