When a person has died, what percentage of the cells that make up his body die instantly?

Question

And how long does it take for the rest of the cells in his body to die?

Answer 1

NONE of them "die instantly".

The brain, because it requires huge amounts of oxygen to function properly, is the first thing to go. That is why people in a vegetative state are said to be "brain dead" while their body goes on living.

After the brain, it is a slow process for the actual tissues to die off. Circulation of blood stops, so the tissues are no longer getting fresh oxygen. But they have all the oxygen that was delivered up to that point to slowly feed on. And since the body is no longer moving around, demanding WORK of those tissues, that last oxygen delivery can last quite a long time.

I found this explanation...
To insure viability of the internal organs such as heart, lung, liver, pancreas, and kidneys, individuals without brain function must be maintained on a respirator. Donation of eyes, bone, skin and other tissues does not require maintenance on a respirator.

On this website...
http://www.wcredcross.org/general/familydecision.html

Answer 2

To some extent it depends on how the person dies. However, brain cells. deprived of oxygen, die within about 5 minutes. Heart muscle cells can last a bit longer, but not too much. After a while (on the order of a couple of hours), no more ATP is produced, so the body goes into rigor mortis (when the body is completely stiff) but that starts to wear off after about 24 - 36 hours, as the muscle cells themselves start to break down. So, essentially, apart from the cells that are directly impacted by the cause of death, most of them last for minutes to hours, depending on how long they can survive without oxygen, etc.

Answer 3

Less than 10%