Alumni Offer New Hope for the Unborn

Intrahepatic Cholestasis of Pregnancy, commonly known as ICP, is a liver condition that occurs in approximately 1% of pregnancies in the United States.

It usually happens in the last trimester and, in its most severe cases, results in stillbirth. The only treatment is delivery, accompanied by close monitoring and repeated clinical testing for bile acids, a byproduct of liver function. Unfortunately, many doctors and expectant parents are unaware of the disease, and even if it is suspected, delays in the necessary testing can prove fatal. Dr. Berry Campbell, Dr. Allison Gardner and Kip Gardner at the annual Judd’s Legacy Boo Run 5K in Gaffney, South Carolina, on Oct. 30, 2021.

In 2018, Brandon ’07 and Dr. Allison Kyzer Gardner ’09 were expecting their first child, a boy, whom they named Judd. However, after having experienced symptoms and performed tests, Allison was diagnosed with ICP, following a weeklong wait for results. They scheduled an early delivery, but it was too late, and Judd passed away a few days before the appointed date.

After losing Judd, the Gardners resolved to help prevent this tragedy from taking other unborn babies. In 2020, they founded Judd’s Legacy, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to ICP awareness and prevention.

Brandon ’07 and Dr. Allison Kyzer Gardner ’09 spreading awareness for Judd’s Legacy, a foundation they founded in his honor. “A lot of providers brush it off, and that’s exactly what happened to me,” said Allison. “It started with severe itching, and I talked to my OB about it and his words were, ‘stay off Google, take this Benadryl, and this and that.’”

Her provider only suspected ICP after other tests detected elevated liver enzymes. Then, the necessary bile acid test was performed, sent off, and the results were returned days later.

In addition to awareness, a significant part of the Gardners’ mission has been to bring rapid bile acid testing to South Carolina, which would cut the wait time for results from seven days to just hours. Pretty soon, their mission connected them with Dr. Berry Campbell ’81, with Prisma Health in Columbia.

“When Allison brought me the information about this test they were doing in the U.K. and at Yale New Haven, it made sense and we should be able to do something similar,” said Campbell. “So, we started putting it together.”

On Nov. 1, 2021, in-house rapid bile acid testing began at Prisma Health in Greenville, now one of two rapid testing labs in the United States. The results are ready within 12 hours, and patients from surrounding areas can have results back within 24 hours. There are plans to bring the same to Columbia in the coming months.

“It’s just a wonderful thing, and we would’ve never known to look into it, frankly, if it hadn’t been for Allison’s persistence,” said Campbell. “And it just happens that we’re all Newberry College grads.”