In 2021, the Henrietta Lacks estate filed a lawsuit against Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. for “the exploitation” that occurred when they shared the HeLa cells with other scientists and profited off them. According to the Associated Press, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who represented her descendants, announced an agreement has been made following a long day of court. The outlet reported that negotiations regarding the case took place Monday in a private room in Baltimore’s federal courthouse with some of Lack’s grandchildren involved in the process. Following the deal, both parties released the same statement.

“Members of the family of Henrietta Lacks and Thermo Fisher have agreed to settle the litigation filed by Henrietta Lacks’ estate, in U.S. District Court in Baltimore,” the statement read. “The terms of the agreement will be confidential. The parties are pleased that they were able to find a way to resolve this matter outside of Court and will have no further comment about the settlement.”

The finalization of the settlement happened to be the day before what would’ve been the mother of five’s 103th birthday, People reported. Crump shared that she is a monumental figure and should be recognized in America.

“Henrietta Lacks was not inferior — in fact, she was extraordinary. On this birthday, America should acknowledge that she was extraordinary in every way,” Crump said, according to the Washington Post.

When Lacks became a patient at Johns Hopkins Hospital over 70 years ago to seek help for cervical cancer, she had no clue she’d be a major key in science and modern medicine, assisting a company to generate billions and helping to save the lives of others. She was only at the medical center two months before she passed at 31 years old. Unknown to her and her family, doctors took some cancer cells from a biopsied tumor they removed to run tests while she was in the facility’s care. They were then cultured by Dr. George Gey, which wasn’t illegal at the time due to the racism heavily involved in medical practices at the time.

Medical practitioners nicknamed what they removed from the tumor HeLa cells, which were miraculous because they continued to divide, and were able to be used for continuous testing outside of her body. Due to this, scientists were able to help shape today’s medical landscape since HeLa cells were used to create new medical discoveries like vaccine development, cancer treatments and even AIDS research. Decades later, her family found out that Lacks’ cells were used to change the trajectory of how doctors combatted multiple diseases in the name of science.

Despite settling, the amount of money the estate will receive has not been disclosed. The company and the family also agreed there wouldn’t be any more public statements released regarding the matter. The grandson, Alfred Lacks Carter Jr., of Lacks’ last living child, 86-year-old Lawrence Lacks Sr., said he’s happy that his father was able to see his grandmother finally get the flowers she deserved.

“There couldn’t have been a more fitting day for her to have justice, for her family to have relief,” he said. “It was a long fight — over 70 years — and Henrietta Lacks gets her day.”