Can you read the SD card on another computer?
Does macOS recognize any SD card on this laptop?
Try booting into Safe Mode to see if the SD card is recognized.
Check the Apple System Profiler to see if the SD Card Reader is physically seen. To access the System Profiler you can Option-click the Apple menu and select the first option (System Information?). I believe there is an "SD Reader" option on the left pane, if not then check under "Storage" or "USB".
In Disk Utility you may need to click on "View" and select "Show all devices" before the physical SD card appears in the left pane of Disk Utility.
Sometimes macOS cannot read or recognize a card or drive if something odd happens to it. In this case you may first need to re-partition the card using a Windows or Linux computer or by writing zeroes to the beginning of the SD card. This will destroy all data on the card though. I'm not certain what partition type & format to recommend although "Master Boot Record" and FAT or ExFAT are the most likely.
It is also possible the card is defective.